An independent agency charged with investigating police-incident deaths opened its door Monday.
The provincial Independent Investigations Office will review incidents of death or serious harm involving RCMP, 11 municipal police departments, provincial Transit Police and a First Nations police force in B.C.
The new independent agency was created following outrage surrounding the death by Taser of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport five years ago, and subsequent recommendations made in the Braidwood commission.
The agency has hired 26 investigators, none of whom have worked in policing for at least five years - an effort to ensure impartiality. It will not investigate past incidents.
B.C. Justice Minister Shirley Bond has said public confidence in police in B.C. has suffered in recent years, and that the creation of the new agency will help restore confidence.
An especially vocal critic of the RCMP in B.C. - Agassiz man Mark Surakka - said he believes the civilian investigative agency is a good step, but he fears the whole justice system is skewed to give police officers favourable treatment.
In 2008, Surakka's daughter Lisa Dudley lay dying in a home near Mission for four days after an RCMP officer failed to adequately investigate a 911 call.
She died while finally being transferred to hospital.
The officer received a reprimand and lost a day's pay in an RCMP internal hearing.
"I truly hope (the new civilian agency) works because there are a lot of people that it needs to work for," Surakka said.
"But they are just inserting [a special investigator] into the works. Police are still set apart from everyone else in the system."
