August 11, 2004

At the coroner’s inquest into the death of Jeff Berg while in police custody, his sister found herself playing the role of lawyer.

Up until now, Julie Berg has been represented by lawyer Cameron Ward. Because legal fees have mounted to more than $150,000, Ward has withdrawn from the proceedings and berg will handle the rest of it alone.

Lawyers representing the Vancouver police, city and coroner are being paid for by taxpayer dollars. But Berg’s repeated requests for provincial funding have been denied.

http://www.vancouvertelevision.com/topnews.jsp?id=/news/stories/2004/08/news-20040811-10.htm

Picture shows cop standing 'lookout' while VPD officer repeated beat the unconscious Berg till he was dead.

Chief shocks City of Vancouver by stating Officer who murdered Berg 'should be congratulated' after court finds "Berg death was Homicide"!

Darah Hansen and Jim Beatty
Vancouver Sun

August 14, 2004

The police officer whose actions led to the death of a robbery suspect should be congratulated rather than condemned, says Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham.

In a spirited defence of the officer on Friday, Graham said Const. David Bruce-Thomas put the lives of a terrified family ahead of his own in arresting Jeffrey Berg in October 2000.

"This was no traffic stop. This was a terrifying, violent and very dangerous break-and-enter into a house by at least two armed, masked men who were terrorizing a family," Graham said of the call Bruce-Thomas, a dog handler, responded to alone that night.

"I think he should be congratulated."

Graham's comments came one day after a coroner's jury concluded that Berg's death in custody was a homicide, a neutral term referring to the death of a person caused -- directly or indirectly -- by another person.

An autopsy determined Berg, 37, died as a result of a blow to the neck, which caused an aneurysm and led to a fatal heart attack. He also suffered head injuries and a badly bruised testicle.

Bruce-Thomas admitted he kicked Berg several times because he resisted arrest. But during the subsequent coroner's inquest, Bruce-Thomas said he couldn't recall how Berg ended up on the pavement.

Bruce-Thomas remains on active police duty.

The coroner's inquest made a series of recommendations, including that the police department regularly retrain officers, provide frequent psychological assessments of officers in high-stress jobs, and install automatic audio and video equipment in all squad cars.

Graham said the department will take the recommendations under advisement, adding, "While many of these recommendations are important and meaningful, some others are tied to our current fiscal issues and manpower increase of resources."

He said the level of training required of Vancouver's police officers -- including in situations where force is needed -- "takes second place to no one."

On Friday, police released photos of a mask, replica gun, wire cord and scissors to illustrate the seriousness of the break-in Berg was involved in that night. As well, a 9-1-1 tape recording was played where a man with an Asian accent is heard frantically calling for police after five armed men smashed through the front door of his home on Slocan Street in east Vancouver.

"Robbery, robbery," the man shouts to the emergency operator. "[They are] in my home right now. Quick. Quick. Police."

Graham said the victims in the case were so terrified by the incident they later fled the country before the matter could go to court. He downplayed suggestions the home was being used to grow marijuana.

"There was some indication of a house nearby [that had a marijuana crop]. [The thieves] may have had the wrong address," Graham said.

(According to provincial court documents, a man named Mo Thi Le was issued a stay of proceedings in March 2001 on charges of marijuana possession for the purpose of trafficking, marijuana production and fraudulently obtaining electricity. Le was arrested in June 2000 at the same home that was robbed the night Berg died.)

Graham said the 9-1-1 recording best illustrates Bruce-Thomas's state of mind when he arrived alone on scene that night.

"Putting the safety of that family above his own, he pursues the men by himself, knowing full well, if the radio information was correct, they could well be armed," the police chief said. "He doesn't have time to call for backup because by this time, he is already involved in what he thought was a fight for his life."

But lawyer Cameron Ward, who acted on behalf of the dead man's sister, Julie Berg, said police are missing the point.

"It doesn't matter what [Berg] was suspected of," Ward said. "The police can't use unnecessary or excessive force to apprehend somebody. It's not the police's job to punish. It's the court's job."

Ward wants to see the matter go to court.

"The intent is not so much to discipline anyone or punish anyone," he said, "but to see that the whole incident is not swept under the rug and that the police really realize that they don't have licence to abuse citizenry."

Anything less than a full examination of police actions that night puts law-abiding citizens at risk, Ward said.

"It's a slippery slope. If [the police] feel they can use whatever force they see fit when dealing with suspects, any member of the public could be stopped in a routine traffic matter and face abuse by the police."

B.C.'s Police Complaint Commissioner is undertaking a public hearing into the Berg matter, questioning whether Bruce-Thomas abused his authority by using excessive force.

The hearing, which began in April but was adjourned last month, is set to reconvene on Sept. 13 for four weeks, said acting deputy complaint commissioner Bruce Brown.

If fault is found, the adjudicator in the matter, retired provincial court judge Brian Weddell, has the power to reprimand, suspend or -- as a maximum -- dismiss the officer from the police force.

An internal investigation into Berg's death conducted by the Vancouver city police found no wrongdoing and recommended no action be taken under the Police Act.

No member of the provincial government would comment on the Berg case Friday. Both Solicitor General Rich Coleman and Attorney General Geoff Plant are on holidays.

A government spokeswoman said neither minister has read the report and said it is unlikely they would comment before September.

Both Julie Berg and Cameron Ward have called on the province to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the matter further in light of the coroner's inquest findings.

Special prosecutors are independent law officers who are appointed by the criminal justice branch to ensure criminal prosecutions do not have the taint of improper influence, whether real or perceived.

Geoff Gaul, spokesman for the criminal justice branch, said the findings of the inquiry are being studied to determine if charges should be laid.

"We will be reviewing the results of the inquiry and once that is concluded, we'll be in a position to determine what, if any, action needs to be taken," he said.

But Gaul said a special prosecutor can't be appointed simply because a family member requests it.

"Special prosecutors are not appointed for the purposes of investigation. They are prosecutors who review reports to Crown counsel and make prosecutorial decisions, including charging decisions."

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d9151a1f-e733-48dd-a8c7-b22b9ad5139d

Julie Berg's brother, Jeff, died while in police custody and his death was ruled a homicide during a coroner's inquest.
 

VANCOUVER - The sister of a man who died after a violent confrontation with police has demanded that the city's chief constable resign for defending the officer involved.

Julie Berg accused Chief Const. Jamie Graham of prejudicing the upcoming disciplinary hearing of Const. David Bruce-Thomas.

"The courts will determine culpability, no one else," said Berg.

Graham held a news conference Friday to defend Bruce-Thomas after a coroner's jury ruled Jeff Berg's death was a homicide, a neutral term indicating the death was caused by another person.

He said Berg was invading a home and "terrorizing a family" prior to his death.

Graham praised Bruce-Thomas for bravely putting the victims' safety before his own when he engaged in a struggle with Berg.
 

Cameron Ward, the lawyer representing the Berg family, said Graham was out of line in accusing Berg of being a vicious burglar.

"It's never the job of police to take the law into their own hands and administer punishment. They decided Jeff Berg was a bad guy, a dangerous guy and, therefore, it appears the police chief is saying they were justified in inflicting injuries that ultimately caused his death," said Ward. "That's not what we do in a civilized society."

He said the break-in couldn't have been that serious because police dropped charges against the two men arrested with Berg.

"If this was such a serious matter, why wasn't there a trial of these people? The Vancouver police didn't want the circumstances of Jeff Berg's death to come out at trial," Ward alleged.

Julie Berg said she and her family are deeply offended by Graham's remarks and accusations against her brother. She is seeking legal advice to see if she has any recourse. In the meantime, she is calling on the chief to resign.

"Tragically, with the attitude he displays, more members of the public will die at the hands of the Vancouver Police Department," she said Saturday, flanked by human rights activists.

A public hearing by the Police Complaint Commission will be held to review Berg's death and police actions next month.

Amy Carmichael http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=21722446-cc25-4bcc-aed8-e66a6a6b44bc Canadian Press

Terri Theodore Canadian Press


Tuesday, September 14, 2004


VANCOUVER (CP) -- A complainant and her lawyer stomped out of a police complaint hearing in Vancouver Tuesday calling the process badly flawed.

Julie Berg was refused input on an agreed statement of facts that was to be read into the record, a statement she says she doesn't agree with at all.

She has spearheaded the review of the way the police handled her brother's arrest, who died in custody in October, 2000.

"I have very limited standing and this is just the beginning of, I'm afraid to say it, a very flawed process," she said outside court Tuesday.

"I feel it's absolutely unfair for myself as a complainant and this isn't just for me, it's for the public. That's the whole purpose of a public hearing. For me as a complainant, I have no standing -- I don't see what I will get out of this."

Her lawyer, Cameron Ward, said he was faxed the statement before the hearing got underway at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.

"I was not included in the negotiations and discussions that lead to that so called agreed statement of facts. When I looked at it, I could see some clear errors, flaws and problems, so I objected to it."

He said he and Berg walked out because they are being treated as mere observers in the review, not participants.

The argument started over an agreed statement of facts that Lawyers for the Complaints Commission and the police officer involved wanted on the record.

It includes evidence no court would allow, inaccurate statements and omissions, Ward charged.

Const. David Bruce-Thomas is accused of using unnecessary force in the arrest of Jeff Berg.

The home invasion suspect died after a blow to the neck during his arrest.

Bill Smart, the lawyer for Const. Bruce-Thomas, told the hearing that the process could take days or even weeks longer if the statement wasn't accepted.

In the end, commission adjudicator Brian Weddell allowed the statement to be read into the record.