Mike on Crime

By Gabrielle Giroday
Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Police Service Deputy Chief Doug Webster said top-ranking members of the force’s executive committee were not aware, until it surfaced last week, of a video of the February 2009 arrest.

The video shows officers beating then-18-year-old Cody Bousquet after he rammed a police cruiser in a stolen vehicle and drove at officers. Webster said officials became “concerned” due to statements made by Judge Ray Wyant during a sentencing for Bousquet last Thursday.

Bousquet was convicted of two counts of assault with a weapon for driving at two officers and one count of stealing a motor vehicle over $5,000. Lawyers agreed to a plea bargain which meant seven charges were dropped. Wyant sentenced Bousquet to 11 months’ time served.

At the sentencing, Wyant said Bousquet did not show any “overt resistance” to police and the force showed by officers was “out of measure” for the situation.

Bousquet, who was heavily inebriated, was Tasered twice during the arrest.

One of the officers involved in Bousquet’s arrest, Const. Ryan Law, is already charged with assault regarding the alleged beating of Henry Lavallee in a Public Safety Building interview room in November 2008.

Webster directed the matter to the RCMP in part because Law is the nephew of Winnipeg Police Service Chief Keith McCaskill.

Law is currently on administrative duties in the force.

“Public confidence is foremost in my mind,” said Webster. He said, however, he is loath to “pre-judge” six officers who appear to be involved in the arrest while Mounties finish their investigation.

Webster said the decision to have the RCMP handle the investigation — rather than the WPS professional standards unit — was to honour legislation under the province’s forthcoming Police Act.

That Act says police agencies should have independent bodies review alleged police misconduct, instead of investigate themselves.

Webster said it is the first time in recent memory that police have asked the Mounties to do the investigation.

He said in some cases offenders may use the complaint process against police officers to benefit their court cases.

“That doesn’t mean… we don’t take allegations seriously, because we do,” he said.

“We investigate them and let the chips fall where they may.”

McCaskill removed himself from the matter immediately after he found about it, said police.

Police investigators originally seized the surveillance tape during their investigation of the pursuit and turned it over to the Crown on March 10, 2009, about 11 days after the arrest.

Webster said the top-ranking police officers were surprised to learn of the tape last week.

“It was a bit of a confusion,” said Webster.

“I don’t think anybody else in the police service was aware of it.”

In his findings, Wyant chastised Bousquet for his actions leading up to the arrest but said the courts did not condone police behaviour. The teen told court he has been socially isolated in jail and picked on by other inmates.

He said he wants to seek drug and alcohol treatment and learn a trade.

“I didn’t see any evidence of an overt resistance, and I don’t think someone in the prone position would have been capable of providing much resistance that would have justified what was clearly the force that was inflicted on him,” said Wyant.