Another Jamie Graham screw-up,
another formal complaint
Victoria’s blundering police chief
is a one-man make-work project for
B.C.’s useless police complaint system
April 26, 2010
Victoria police chief Jamie Graham’s latest gaffe brought on his fourth police complaint in 16 months. This one alleges that he blacklisted police psychologist Mike Webster.
On April 3 Graham sent the following e-mail to at least two Victoria officers: “Just so you know, I have directed our people to cease and desist any work with him in any area after he went on a rant on Global TV about the U tube video of our officers. Whether their actions are deemed right or wrong, I took great offence to his comments, condemning the officers without having any of the facts of what happened.”
You can listen to Webster’s remarks here and judge whether they justify Graham’s reaction, or even whether they constitute a “rant.”
Graham cut a controversial figure as Vancouver police chief too. Among other incidents, he was found guilty of discreditable conduct for failing to cooperate with an investigation into allegations of police brutality and illegal confinement in the East Side. Before discipline could be enforced Graham left the VPD, ending his rocky five-year term.
In one of Graham’s strangest actions, he left a shooting target, displaying a bullet-riddled human figure, on the desk of Vancouver city manager Judy Rogers. Graham added a cryptic but rather creepy inscription reading: “Judy: A bad day at the range is better than a good day at the office.”
According to Vancouver Courier columnist Allen Garr, “Such was the brittle relationship between Rogers and this member of her senior management team that she freaked out...”
The police complaint commissioner referred the incident to Vancouver’s police board, which held a disciplinary hearing. But the hearing and its findings remain secret.
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