(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
Aug. 26, 1998)
The inmates
are running the asylum
By Leo Knight
LAST
week in Nanaimo, a provincial court judge sentenced two RCMP
members to nine months in jail for an alleged assault committed
on a local thug during an arrest.
The
judge in the case, Robert Higinbotham, had some stinging
comments not only of the two members involved, but of the
officer commanding the Nanaimo detachment who had the temerity
to criticize his decision.
The
case raises some serious questions. Not the least of which is
whether a police officer engaged in the execution of his or her
duty can expect reasonable, fair and equitable treatment at the
bar of justice should he find himself in the dock.
The
story starts in the early morning hours of April 9, 1996 in
downtown Nanaimo. Two constables, Shawn Boudreau and Raj Sandhu,
were on patrol sitting at an intersection when they spotted a
1981 Oldsmobile being driven by local rounder and ne'er-do-well,
Dennis Burdick.
Now,
bear in mind this is now two o' clock in the morning and the
bars are just closing.
The
officers engaged their emergency equipment to stop the car.
Burdick stopped promptly for police. In fact he stopped a little
too promptly. He was angled away from the curb and into the
street. A cynical, old ex-cop might say he was positioning
himself for a possible flight if things began to go awry.
We
should perhaps pause for a moment and have a peek at Dennis
Burdick. You know the type. A small-town yahoo whose Saturday
night isn't complete until he got drunk and got into a fight. If
he happened to get arrested, well, that was just a by-product of
the evening's fun. Suffice to say, he's well-known to local
police.
The
two officers determined Burdick had in fact been drinking.
Shocked as they were at that revelation, he was put into the
back seat of the patrol car. There is some dispute as to whether
or not Burdick was handcuffed. Police say no, Burdick says yes.
Burdick
admitted to police he'd consumed "two" beer during the
evening. He later told the court he'd had four. I suspect he
can't count. He also had a syringe in his pocket at the time of
his arrest.
There
was no evidence he is diabetic.
At
any rate, one officer sat in the front seat and began asking the
routine questions -- name, address, FPS number (finger print
record). The other officer began checking the vehicle a little
closer. Burdick claimed he'd just purchased the vehicle the week
previous. The police computer showed the plates had expired a
year earlier. Closer inspection showed the "current"
insurance validation tag had been altered. Surprise!
Constable
Boudreau went to the rear door, opened it to ask Burdick about
the altered tags. Burdick then pulled Boudreau into the police
car and a struggle then ensued as Boudreau tried to extricate
himself.
Sandhu,
seeing the predicament his partner was in, went around to the
other side of the car, opened the door and delivered several
well-placed kicks to Burdick's head and shoulder area. One of
these found its mark and broke Burdick's nose, causing him to
let go of Boudreau.
During
the struggle, Boudreau tried pepper spray which did not have the
desired effect, hence the need for Sandhu's actions.
Moments
later the patrol supervisor came by the scene and, as the
officers were describing the activities, Burdick kicked out the
rear side window of the police car.
The
police assumed Burdick was trying to escape. Together, they
hauled him out of the car on to the ground and, with Burdick
fighting and struggling, managed to get him cuffed and secured.
Burdick, by the way, is 6 foot three and 230 lbs. and evidently
no shrinking violet.
During
this struggle, Burdick was choked and punched once, by Sandhu.
Some, but not all, of this activity was observed by an
uninvolved man 100-150 feet away to the rear of the police car.
These
are the salient facts as provided in two separate trials.
Burdick was charged and convicted with assaulting a police
officer (dragging Boudreau into the car) and wilfully damaging
the car window. He got a small fine for his trouble.
Higinbotham,
in his case, totally disregarded the findings of his brother
judge, Gould, and found the two officers guilty of assault
causing bodily harm. The Mounties were outraged. The
superintendent of the detachment, Bud Bechtold, spoke out
publicly on the issue and was promptly spanked for his efforts.
Evidently
the police chief of a community, which is the position held by
the officer in charge of a Mountie detachment, can't have an
opinion, at least in public.
Judge
Gould, in finding Burdick guilty, disbelieved his inconsistent
and contrived testimony and accepted the officers evidence.
Higinbotham,
in a great leap of twisted logic, said he accepted Gould's
findings, but concluded the officers must be lying and found
Burdick did not pull the officer into the back seat of the
police car. This, in spite of the fact Burdick testified he did,
albeit accidentally.
In
his reasons for judgement, Higinbotham said, "... I accept
his (Burdick's) evidence that he did not attempt to pull
Boudreau into the cruiser . . ." But, in the first part of
his judgement, he said, "The guilty verdict for Mr. Burdick
is supportable even on his own evidence, as he testified that he
pulled away from Const. Boudreau and sat down in the police car
on his own. On his own admission, his actions pulled Const.
Boudreau somewhat towards the rear seat of the vehicle."
Let's
see now. Burdick admitted pulling Boudreau into the car and was
convicted for this assault on the officer. The police were
forced to get physical with Burdick to stop the assault on
Boudreau. Judge Gould convicts Burdick. Judge Higinbotham agrees
the conviction is supportable on the facts. But then says he
doesn't believe the facts. Burdick gets a $400 fine. The cops
get nine months in jail.
And
the police are not free in our so-called democracy to criticize
the judge lest the "administration of justice be brought
into disrepute."
Incidentally,
the cops had unblemished, exemplary records.
It would appear the inmates are officially running the asylum.
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