(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
July 8, 1998)
Cop's
sentencing tough to swallow
By Leo Knight
JUSTICE,
as it is administered in this province, is a rare commodity
these days. The system is screwed up badly and all too often it
is the victim who pays the price and is ignored by those
responsible for the administration of the system.
At
a time when it seems nigh on impossible to get a habitual
criminal to even see the inside of a jail cell, a local mountie
has had the full force of the law fall on him, and for the most
incredible of reasons.
Our
story starts in the summer of 1995 when Coquitlam mountie, Real
Vallee, was working on uniform patrol duty with a summer student
on a job experience program. Const. Vallee had just arrested an
individual and was heading back to the station when he diverted
to a break-in "in progress" call.
On
arrival, two so-called "young offenders" were taken
into custody inside the house. Vallee had to send the summer
student back to the police car to get an extra set of handcuffs
to secure the suspects.
Later
at the detachment, the suspect, a 14-year-old with a history for
such things as break and entry, theft and robbery with a weapon,
complained his face was hurt.
Paramedics
were called and recommended he be taken to hospital for an
examination.
Vallee
says on the way there the suspect told him he had run into a
wall when he was trying to get away from the police. The
teenager later said it was Vallee who had thrown him into a wall
while handcuffed.
The
summer student, Dar Dhillon, now a Vancouver police officer,
said he had not seen Vallee or any other police officer throw
the kid into the wall. Given the fact it was Dhillon who had to
go and get the handcuffs and that was the only time Vallee was
alone with the suspect in the house where the alleged assault is
said to have occurred, you'd almost think that would be the end
of the matter.
Not
so.
The
crook had a fractured sinus on the left side of his face. When
he was released from jail and returned to the gentle custody of
his father, he said it was Vallee who had fractured his cheek.
A
complaint was filed with the RCMP and was promptly investigated
by Corp. Mike Connor of the Coquitlam Serious Crime Section.
The
co-accused in the break-in didn't know anything about the
"wall incident" when he was interviewed by Connor. The
summer student was very straight forward. He barely knew Vallee
and had no axe to grind for either side. No other police officer
saw any incident at the residence which could corroborate the
little nose picker's story.
Connor
wrote up the file and forwarded it to regional Crown counsel
according to policy, expecting nothing more would come from it.
Not
in this day and age, I'm afraid.
Constable
Vallee was charged with assault causing bodily harm. An ad hoc
prosecutor was brought in to keep the case at arm's length from
the prosecutors Vallee deals with on a regular basis when he is
trying, in vain, to get the real criminals off the street. The
AG even brought in a judge from somewhere on Vancouver Island to
hear the case.
The
two guys arrested in the house that wasn't theirs, both pled
guilty to the outstanding charges and got the usual Young
Offender sentence -- bugger all.
After
almost three years since the break-in occurred, Const. Vallee
was tried and found guilty of assault causing bodily harm by
Judge Robert Graham and sentenced to -- wait for it -- three
months in jail!
Vallee
has been an exemplary police officer. He is a former member of
the Armed Forces. The 34-year-old constable is on the elite
Emergency Response Team. He is married with one young boy and
his wife is pregnant with their second child. He hasn't got a
blemish on his record. And Judge Graham somehow decided he
should go to jail.
Even
if, and I don't for a moment, accept the word of the scum ...
sorry, Young Offender, and Vallee did what he is accused of, how
in the name of justice can this judge even consider custody?
The
anomalies in this case scream out "reasonable doubt."
The second suspect, now an adult although I still can't tell you
his name lest he be somehow treated unfairly, changed his story
from the investigative interview to the trial. Even then, he
said the incident took place in a different location than the
alleged victim.
The
judge chose to believe them over the evidence of the police
officer and the summer student, himself now a police officer. He
said the student, Dhillon, was either lying or "wilfully
blind."
I
should add, by the way, that Graham is not actually a sitting
judge on the island. He is, what is called, a supernumary judge.
That means he is retired on a government pension. In fact,
that's why the matter took so long to come to a conclusion,
because Graham leaves the country for the whole winter, to
warmer climes one would presume.
It's
true that a police officer must be held to a higher standard
than the general public. A matter of trust is involved. But
equally, any police officer accused of a crime must be convicted
on the highest standard of available evidence, not the dubious
word of a convicted thief and robber, who, by the way, did not
stop his larcenous ways after this incident.
Vallee's
lawyer, Bill Smart, has filed an appeal. Vallee spent the
weekend in jail before being released on bail on Monday
afternoon.
The
judge has gone back into retirement. The Young Offender
continues to do what he does best.
The
owners of the house they broke into are outraged the police
officer who came to their aid is, himself, going to jail.
The
cops are shocked and I can't even begin to describe what this
has done to the morale of those sworn to protect you and me.
Remember William Bennest, the pedophile school principal who
waltzed away from his crimes?
This is our justice system. Sleep well.
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