OTTAWA -- Canada's police watchdog will take a close look at how RCMP detachments with people who have mental health issues after Mounties in B.C. shot and killed a man suffering from schizophrenia. Paul E. Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, announced Monday there are reasonable grounds to initiate a complaint against police. He said the investigation will focus partly on whether the officers involved complied with their training, and partly on current RCMP policies.Christopher Klim, 23, was shot dead by police in the Okanagan city of Vernon, B.C., on Dec. 27, 2007, after he charged at officers with a knife. Police went to Klim's apartment after learning he was suicidal, and tried to apprehend him on a Mental Health Act warrant. They attempted to subdue him with a Taser, but the stun gun only temporarily stopped him. Officers then shot him."I am satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of Mr. Klim," Kennedy said in the complaint.
The commission will probe whether the RCMP's "national, divisional and detachment-level policies, procedures and guidelines in dealing with people in a state of mental health crisis" are adequate. Kennedy noted the commission will also investigate the "conduct of the RCMP officers involved in this incident." B.C. RCMP have already directed the regional major crime unit to investigate the shooting. That investigation is also being monitored by an independent officer review. No decision has been made about whether criminal charges will be laid against the Vernon Mounties."It is not my intention to prejudice the RCMP investigations," wrote Kennedy in his complaint. "However, I will be closely monitoring RCMP progress as it relates to the investigations underway so that I can ensure, at their completion, a timely response to this complaint."
Camia Weaver, the justice co-ordinator for the Canadian Mental Health Association, said the investigation is welcome, adding such inquiries help RCMP to create sound policy."It's a snowball effect," she said. "You do need to keep having these types of investigations."There are efforts to make changes, but efforts are sometimes slow."Weaver said police need to adopt a comprehensive training program that creates an understanding of mental illnesses, as well as how officers respond to people suffering from such afflictions. That would "take away the fear that police officers have with people suffering from mental illness," she added. Dispatchers should also be trained to understand mental illnesses so they can provide the best information to officers attending a scene.In the Vernon shooting, Weaver said: "It's really ironic that someone who is suspected of being suicidal would have police break down the door and Taser him."Weaver said if officers aren't trained to deal with the mentally ill, that, a mental health adviser should be brought in the help. After Klim's death, the man's grandparents released a statement saying he suffered from schizophrenia, and they "don't blame anyone for what happened."The statement added the family was thankful nobody else was injured.
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Don Quixote Note: Looks like David Wylie the former Vernon Daily Courier editor who moved onto Canwest in Ottawa still maintains his interest in Vernon.
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