2024 Presenters

Use of Force Expert Conference

Presenter Biographies

Dr. Stephanie Dawson (Johnston)
Master of Ceremonies
Founder and Principal Researcher, Dawson Analytics Inc.

Dr. Stephanie Dawson (Johnston) is the Founder of, and Principal researcher at Dawson Analytics, Inc. Dr. Dawson earned her Ph.D. in Criminology from Simon Fraser University. Dr. Dawson has engaged with policing-related research as both an academic and independent research consultant. She has contributed to multiple reports and articles related to policing and public safety, and has presented her work to academics, local government officials, and agency executives. Her earliest works focused on police perceptions of crowd disorder and crowd management techniques. Her work has since expanded to focus on various elements of police-citizen interactions, including trends in police use of different force options, police engagement in street checks, and police perceptions of crisis intervention and de-escalation. Currently, Dr. Dawson works with municipal police services to ensure their policies and practices are evidence- and best practice-informed.

Elder Caroline Buckshot
Opening and Closing Remarks
JIBC, Office of Indigenization

Elder Caroline Buckshot, whose traditional name is KaNigan a Pit meaning “Woman who teaches”, is an Elder and community member from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation of the Algonquin Nation in Maniwaki, Quebec.

Elder Buckshot’s career led to Provincial Corrections as an addiction counsellor and Native Liaison for ten years, four years in the community as an addiction counsellor and since 2007, has provided elder services in Federal Corrections. In addition, Elder Buckshot is a Gladue writer since 2011 for Legal Services Society (LSS) and presently for British Columbia First Nations Justice Council (BCFNJC). She has written over 3,000 Elder Review Initials, which captures the social history of the individual and develops healing plans and makes recommendations.

Most important, she is an Elder to young women in the community, providing spiritual guidance, and she is a proud mother of her son Andrew and grandmother to Brandon.

Ray Bergen
Presenting Sponsor
Chairman & CEO, Canreal Management Corporation

Mr. Bergen is the founder, owner and Chairman of Canreal Management Corporation and the Pres. and owner of Bergen Properties Ltd. Canreal and Bergen were established in 1979 and Mr. Bergen oversees the entire operations of both companies. Mr. Bergen has been active in the real estate business for over 40 years and has experience in real estate sales, acquisitions, leasing, development, property management, construction management and ownership of real estate. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from the University of Victoria and an Engineering Diploma from the Royal Canadian Navy Technical School. Mr. Bergen also spent approximately 11 years in the Royal Canadian Navy. 

Ray and his wife Niki are well-known in Vancouver for their philanthropic work with agencies like the Vancouver Food Bank, Odd Squad Productions and Police Judo (Law Enforcement Training Association - LETA), Union Gospel Mission, Courage to Come Back Gala, Ronald McDonald House, VGH & UBC Foundation, Covenant House, Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation and Royal Columbia Hospital Foundation. Ray is a Board member of the Law Enforcement Training Association. Ray has a keen interest in physical fitness training as a lifestyle and he is actively involved in helping applicants, recruits, and serving members develop strong physical skills controls through his work with LETA.

Chief Deborah Doss-Cody
Stlatlimx Tribal Police

Chief Deborah Doss-Cody is from the St’át’imc Nation, born and raised in Fountain, and is one of 13 kids. She has been with the Stl’átl’imx Tribal Police Service (STPS) since its inception 36 years ago on Dec 5,1988. Deborah was promoted to Chief of Police in 2012, and her goal has always been to serve the people with respect, dignity, and compassion: to provide a service that falls in line with the STPS values.

Kevin Westell
Pender Litigation

Kevin Westell is a founding principal at Pender Litigation. In addition to his criminal and regulatory defence work, he is often retained to act as ad hoc Crown Counsel, counsel for witnesses in criminal proceedings and as amicus curiae. He has represented clients and the Crown in jurisdictions across Canada on matters at of all levels of seriousness and has argued on behalf of clients at every level of court including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Kevin has served as a Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) Bencher for Vancouver County since 2021. In the past he has chaired the CBA’s National Criminal Justice Section (and Vancouver Subsection), the Criminal Law Section of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada ULCC, the TLABC Criminal Law Committee, and the Advocate’s Club.

Inspector Steve Wade
Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Steve is a soon to be retired member of the RCMP with 39 years of policing service.  Steve holds a Diploma of Associate in Criminal Justice from Kwantlen College and a BA in Criminology from SFU.  Steve worked as a Summer Student with the RCMP in 1983 at Ucluelet Det. before joining the Force as a regular member in 1985.  He spent his first 12 years in the Force in various posts in Saskatchewan including 3 years with the Regina Integrated Drug Unit.  He transferred to BC in 1997 and served in Vancouver Drug Section – Heroin Unit, a 4-year secondment to the JIBC as Firearms Instructor, Langley, Surrey, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and back to Langley.  Most of his time in the Lower Mainland has been spent as a Patrol Sgt., Watch Commander, and Operations Officer.

Steve is a long time Firearms, Use of Force, Taser, Carbine and IARD Instructor.  He has been a member of various working groups within the RCMP tasked with developing the Carbine Program, Taser Program, IARD program, and a member of the RCMP Use of Force SME program.  He was lead instructor for the BC Sheriff’s transition to semi-automatic pistol and a lead Instructor on the CBSA arming initiative. 

Steve has presented at various conferences throughout the years on Use of Force and Judgemental training.  He is a charter member of ILEETA and is a member of IALEFI and the BC Association of Chiefs of Police.  He was the recipient of an award for Excellence in teaching from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (University of Texas).

Steve has been qualified as an expert in Use of Force, Firearms, Weapons, Prohibited Weapons, and Police firearms training in various venues in different Provinces from coroner’s Inquest up to Supreme Court of BC.

Presentation Topic: Incident Management Intervention Model (IMIM)
Inspector Steve Wade is a court-qualified use of force expert and instructor. Steve will be speaking on the commonalities and differences between the Incident Management Intervention Model (IMIM) used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the National Use of Force Framework (NUFF) used by many municipal law enforcement agencies. It is common practice for legal counsel to seek use of force opinions from experts from outside agencies, which often results in municipal use of force experts testifying in criminal and civil matters involving members of the RCMP. An understanding of the IMIM and how it is taught is an important consideration for those considering opining in this area.

Tom Stamatakis
President, Canadian Police Association (CPA)

Mr. Stamatakis has sat on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Police Association (CPA) since 2003 and he has served as its President since May 2011. Tom was the former President of the Vancouver Police Union (VPU) from 1998-2019, as well as the immediate past President and founding member of the British Columbia Police Association (BCPA) from 2008-2019. In 2022, he was acclaimed for a third term as President of the International Council of Police Representative Associations (ICPRA). 

Mr. Stamatakis has been a constable with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) for over 30 years, where he enjoyed a variety of ‎assignments prior to his secondment to the VPU. He has also participated on a number of boards including Covington Capital, Odd Squad Productions Society, as well as several Federal/Provincial advisory boards and committees.

Tom has extensive knowledge and experience in a variety of areas including strategic crisis communications and advocacy, disciplinary matters, collective bargaining, negotiations, conflict resolution, organizational health and wellness, benefit administration, pensions and governance.

In 2017, he was promoted to Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces in Canada.

Shannon Gerrie
Crown Counsel, BC Prosecution Service

Shannon Gerrie is Administrative Crown Counsel with Commercial, Police & Regulatory Prosecutions (CPR) section of the BC Prosecution Service. In that role, she has administrative oversight of police prosecutions within CPR, including all prosecutions arising from the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) investigations. She has been with the BC Prosecution Service for six years, and before that with the Public Prosecution Service Canada for 17 years.

Dr. Randy Mackoff
Psychologist, Vancouver Police Department

Prior to becoming a psychologist Dr. Mackoff was police officer with the Vancouver Police Department and is currently VPD’s psychological advisor. He has extensive experience providing psychological treatment to police officers. Dr. Mackoff is frequently contacted by police members and police departments following major police incidents where violence has occurred that has resulted in serious injury and/or death.  He is the psychological consultant to VPD, E Division, and Yukon (MDiv) crisis negotiation teams.  Additionally, Dr. Mackoff instructs on the national undercover, JTF2, online undercover, witness management, advanced ICE, and crisis negotiation courses. 

Presentation Topic: A Clinical Perspective on Fatal Use of Force Incidents

Colleen Vaughan
Interim President & CEO, Justice Institute British Columbia

Colleen Vaughan is passionate about excellence in training and education informed by applied research to keep our communities safe. She was appointed as JIBC's Vice-President Academic in January 2017 and since January 2024 she has been serving as Interim President and CEO.

Ms. Vaughan's career started with the BC Corrections Branch and she was later hired by JIBC as an instructor in the Corrections and Court Services Division. She held positions in the Emergency Management Division until 2013 when she was appointed Dean, School of Public Safety.

Ms. Vaughan has a Diploma in Criminology, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Education. She has served on numerous boards and committees locally, provincially and nationally. She has been honoured as JIBC Instructor of the Year and as a nominee for the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards. She also received a NISOD Excellence Award for teaching from the University of Texas.

Ret. Insp. Rob Clarke
Vancouver Police Department

Inspector (Ret) Rob Clarke joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1991 after receiving a diploma in Criminal Justice. He graduated from the police academy with honours receiving the Chief Constable’s award for being the overall outstanding recruit for Class 50.

Rob spent his first 8 years in patrol in Districts 1, 3 and 4. He completed assignments as a beat officer, bike patrol member, and in the communications center. In 1999 Rob was selected to the Emergency Response Team where he spent 7 years as a tactical operator.

In 2007 Rob was promoted to Sergeant. He worked as a supervisor in Districts 1 and 3, in the Vancouver Jail and with the Integrated Gang Task Force. Rob was also a member of the Public Order Unit as the tactical support section’s program coordinator. In 2010 he was chosen as the Department’s Firearms Training Supervisor at the Tactical Training Centre.

Rob was promoted to Staff Sergeant in 2013 and remained with the Training Section where he continued to oversee many new training initiatives including developing and teaching a course to Sergeants on how to effectively respond to a critical incident.

Rob was promoted to Inspector in 2015. After assisting with the creation of the Department’s strategic plan, he was assigned as a Duty Officer where he worked for 4 years. During this time, he oversaw numerous major calls as a nationally accredited Critical Incident Commander and Instructor. Rob finished his career as a District Commander overseeing operations in the downtown West End.

Rob has been working at the JIBC Police Academy since January 2022 as a firearms training instructor.

Presentation Topic: JIBC Police Academy Firearms Training

Dr. John Cleland
MD, FRCSC

Professionally, Dr. Cleland is a practicing otolaryngologist. He has 47 years of martial arts experience, holds a Sandan black belt (3rd degree) in Kodokan Judo, and is also a black belt Instructor in Police Judo. Dr. Cleland has been the medical supervisor for multiple judo tournaments including the World Police Fire Games, and he has been an important resource for medical and physiological information for his home club Aberdeen Judo under Sensei John Huntley in Kamloops. He is NCCP certified in both Karate and Judo. Dr. Cleland has presented at the Police Judo International Conference previously on the topics of chokes and strangles.

Presentation Topic: Chokes and Strangles

Henry Waldock
Crown Counsel, Ret.

Henry Waldock prosecuted for the British Columbia Prosecution Service for over 30 years. He also spent a year as in-house counsel for the Independent Investigations Office (IIO.) Over the last 20 years, he has lectured on legal topics at the RCMP’s Pacific Regional Training Centre with varying frequency, and currently consults on course development there. That led to the creation of a blog/website which explains criminal law as it applies to police work. (https://henrywaldock.ca) He is the author of two working manuals on criminal law. In his semi-retirement, he continues to research and write about criminal law, consults with police and assesses drug investigations.

Ret. Cst. Wayne Unger
Saanich Police Department

Wayne has studied the martial arts for over 40 years. He has his 6th Degree Black Belt in Kodokan Judo, has attended seven national Judo Championships and received three silver and two bronze medals. He has represented Canada in several international events including the German Open, Canada Cup and US Open. As an instructor for the JIBC, he was responsible for the instruction and evaluation of police recruits, preparation of lesson plans, research and curriculum development. He has contributed to the development of Canada’s National Use of Force Framework.

Presentation Topic: Training Wellness

David Butcher K.C.
Wilson Butcher Barristers

David Butcher began his career as a prosecutor with the Federal Department of Justice in 1986. After 14 years in a mid-sized Vancouver firm, he joined Peter Wilson, Q.C. in 2003 and founded the firm Wilson Butcher. He has prosecuted and defended a wide variety of criminal cases at every level of court. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2010. Today, most of his practice involves the defence of police officers charged with on-duty offences, and serious violent, sexual, and white-collar crimes. He also acts as a Special Prosecutor, and as counsel at professional Discipline Hearings and Commissions of Inquiry.

Cait Fleck
Wilson Butcher Barristers

Cait attended law school at the University of British Columbia and received her J.D. in 2018. She first joined Wilson Butcher as a summer student in 2017, then completed her articles with the firm and was called to the BC bar in 2019. Cait completed her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus and received a B.A. in Spanish and Political Science. Prior to law school Cait spent five years living and working in South America, and she is fluent in Spanish.

Since coming to Wilson Butcher, Cait has conducted a number of use of force trials alongside David Butcher, K.C. She frequently consults use of force experts, retains reports, and works with experts to provide testimony in court. In addition, Cait has experience working on a broad range of criminal, civil, and administrative matters, including defence of Criminal Code charges, police and professional discipline, and civil litigation involving police agencies.

Retired Detective Edward L. Baker
Certified Forensic Video Analyst
Video Consultants NW LLC

Ed is a retired major crimes detective with over 27 years of law enforcement experience with the Tacoma Police Department, located in Washington state. He was responsible for the creation of the department’s first forensic video analysis unit and was one of the first of nine in the world to become certified as a forensic video analyst.

With over 25 years of video forensic experience his company provides expert video forensics services to Federal, State, and local law enforcement throughout North America. His services involve working with prosecutors, attorneys and other experts who do not have a technical understanding of video encoding and yet rely heavily on video evidence to form their own conclusions, opinions or develop presentations regarding comparisons, human factor performance, speed estimations, gait analysis and more.

Ed also serves on the cadre team as a core instructor for the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association International (LEVA.org) certification program. There he is involved with teaching three of the four weeklong certifications courses. Ed has developed and instructs a 3 day on-line advanced video examination course tailored specifically for investigators and analysts who work routinely with video evidence.

Over his 40-year career Ed has co-designed and contributed to the development of several video forensic software and evidence management programs used worldwide. He has consulted with Axon, Ocean Systems, YottaGeek and other companies in the development of video and image software used in the examination and analysis processes.

Major Steve Bishopp
Division Commander, Research and Development Division, Dallas Police Department

Major Stephen (Steve) A. Bishopp is a 33-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department and currently serving as the Division Commander of the Research and Development Division. Steve is also a criminologist who received his Ph.D. (2013) in Criminology from the University of Texas at Dallas. He has published 35 peer-reviewed journal articles in the areas of evidence-based policing, use-of-force, police mental health/well-being, and criminological theory. His most recent publications appear in prestigious journals such as Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, Policing: An International Journal, Injury Prevention, Deviant Behavior, and Police Quarterly. Steve is the recipient of the Dallas Police Department’s Supervisor of the Year (2020), and the American Society of Criminology-Division of Policing’s Outstanding Practitioner Award (2022).

Dr. Laura Zimmerman
Senior Researcher, Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers

Dr. Laura Zimmerman is a Senior Researcher at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC). Her recent research has focused on analysis of body-worn camera data to characterize police-community member interactions primarily centering on communication behaviors and low levels of force and suspect compliance. She also developed, and is currently validating, a law enforcement critical communication model for patrol settings. In addition, her work at FLETC focuses on evaluating training and leading FLETC’s efforts to ensure training content is evidence-based. Throughout her career, her research has focused on high stakes decision making in a variety of police and military settings, testing investigative interviewing techniques in field settings, and studying eyewitness identification procedures. Dr. Zimmerman earned her Bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University and her Master and Ph.D. degrees in experimental psychology from University of Texas at El Paso.

Dr. William (Bill) Terrill
Associate Dean, Arizona State University

Dr. William (Bill) Terrill is an Associate Dean for the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and his Masters and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Having served as a Military Police officer, this experience translated to an interest in policing from both a practitioner and academic perspective. Throughout his career, Professor Terrill has worked with various local and state law enforcement agencies, and has directed several federal and locally funded research studies, has served as a consultant on a multitude of projects, has been retained as an expert witness, and has been an invited speaker. Professor Terrill’s work has been published widely and sheds light on how and why police officers use force; the various ways that officers think about (i.e., perceptions) and engage in forceful tactics (i.e., behavior); the manner in which organizations structure and guide officers via organizational policy; the resulting impact of using force on citizens and officers; and the complexity with which one must consider the numerous ways police culture manifests, is shared, and influences officer behavior.

Brad Kielmann
McQuarrie Hunter LLP

Brad is committed to excellence in advocating and representing clients’ best interests at all stages of dispute resolution and litigation. He has worn many hats with experience prosecuting, defending, and adjudicating.

His practice is focused on business disputes and professional discipline proceedings. He has acted for a variety of clients including entrepreneurs, financial institutions, real estate developers, construction companies, and technology companies. He has also acted for a range of professionals such as nurses, mortgage brokers, realtors, accountants, insurance brokers, immigration consultants, optometrists, and police officers. Brad provides prosecutorial and adjudicative support to various professional colleges. He has guided businesses through regulatory proceedings and investigations including automobile dealerships. He will defend clients in select Criminal Code cases. Brad recently acted for a client in connection with the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia.

Brad started his career at a leading British Columbia law firm before joining the British Columbia Prosecution Service as trial Crown Counsel. During that time, he conducted numerous trials in both Supreme and Provincial courts involving offences such as murder, accessory after the fact to murder, fraud, sex assault, robbery, and dangerous driving causing death. He conducted summary conviction appeals and hearings before the British Columbia Review Board. Brad is also experienced in adjudicating disputes under the Workers’ Compensation Act and in adjudicating and mediating sports dispute issues.

In support of his community, Brad has dedicated years of service to not-for-profit boards of directors in the areas of health care, sports, and the arts.

Robert Farrer
Board Director, National Police Federation

Robert Farrer is a Board Director of the National Police Federation, the Union that represents 20,000 front-line members of the RCMP. Prior to being elected to the NPF, Sgt. Farrer spent 20 years policing from the Arctic Coast of the Northwest Territories to Organized Crime in BC.  Sgt. Farrer represents members in collective agreement negotiations and is the Co-chair and negotiator of the NPF’s bargaining committee which negotiated the first-ever collective agreement for the sworn members of the RCMP.  Additionally, Sgt. Farrer assists members going through civilian oversight processes and communicates regularly with the IIO to that end.  Sgt. Farrer has studied in the areas of Law and Policing, Policing and Human Rights as well as other legal aspects of policing through Dalhousie University and holds a Labour Relations Certificate as well as a Certificate in Management.  Rob was a panelist at the 2020 and 2023 Law and Policing Conference discussing topics such as Civilian Oversight and the differential treatment of Police Officers in the Justice System. Rob was also a panelist at the Community/Police/Oversight (CPO) joint forum where he discussed the role of Body Worn Cameras in policing.

Presentation Topic:

Parallel Processes (co-presented by Brad Kielmann and Robert Farrer)
The criminal prosecution of police officers often occurs in conjunction with other processes, including Code of Conduct investigations, Coroner’s Inquests, Civil Trials, and Public Hearings. The overlapping investigations with differing focus and evidentiary rules necessitate counsel knowledgeable in each. The overlapping and often intertwined processes may also present counsel with opportunities for alternative resolutions. This presentation will provide an overview of the various processes police officers are subject to and discuss some of the opportunities presented by them.

Cst. Tim Rich
Crisis Negotiator Coordinator, Vancouver Police Department

Tim joined the Vancouver Police Department in 2006 and is currently the full-time Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) Coordinator. He joined the CNT in 2014, and became the Coordinator in 2021. He previously worked in Patrol, Strike Force, and as a Youth Squad Detective. In his current position he oversees team selection, training, courses, equipment, and deployments. Tim has seen over two hundred negotiator deployments, with many of them as the Negotiator Liaison Officer (NLO) in the Command Triangle. He has instructed on and created curriculum for the VPD CNT Basic and Advanced courses, the Canadian Red Kidnap Course, the CPC CNT Basic Course, and is part of a team that recently launched a B.C. CNT leadership course. Tim has obtained UK certifications from the London National Negotiator Course, Manchester Red Centre Course, and a locally hosted Coordinator Course.

Tim spends his time away from work trying to understand why his young kids are having a tantrum in the middle of his favorite coffee shop.

Ret. Sgt. Joel Johnston
Joel Johnston Consulting Inc.

Joel is a retired 28-year veteran of the Vancouver Police Department with a background in Patrol, Foot Patrol, Crowd Control and Traffic Enforcement. He spent 20 years specializing in Force-related training & program development, and Emergency Response (ERT). He served 9 years as Use of Force Coordinator, 5 years as operational Squad Leader of one of four full time ERT (SWAT) squads and 2 years as the Training Coordinator for ERT. He was seconded to the BC Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General as Provincial Use of Force and Municipal Emergency Response Teams (SWAT) Coordinator from 2005 – 2011. He has been retained in more than 120 use-of-force cases, including numerous high-profile cases across Canada, and given testimony across Canada to all levels of Courts, Hearings, Inquests and Inquiries.

Judge Shannon Keyes
Provincial Court Judge

The Honourable Judge Shannon Keyes is a graduate of UBC (BA 1982) and University of Victoria Law School (LLB 1985). She was called to the Bar in 1986. After a career in private practice, she joined the Provincial Prosecution service as Crown Counsel in 2000. She was appointed to the Provincial Court bench in 2014. She currently sits in Penticton BC.

Ret. Sgt. John Roberts
VPD Force Options Training Unit

John Roberts has worked in law enforcement since 1993. His career began with BC Corrections at the Vancouver Pre-trial Services Centre, where he became the Head Instructor of Recruit Training. In 2001, John was hired as a full-time instructor at the Justice Institute of British Columbia with the Corrections Academy. He joined the Vancouver Police Department in 2003.

John has worked in many areas, including patrol, the Integrated Violence Suppression Team, School Liaison, Recruiting, and the Professional Standards Section. The focus of his career has largely been on officer safety training.

John has completed courses as a Less Lethal Operator, Force Science, Conducted Energy Weapon Instructor, and Provincial Use of Force Certification, Edged Weapon Defence, and many other instructor-level police training courses. He has presented internationally at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Tactical Officer’s Association conferences.

John is currently working with the Vancouver Police Department’s Force Options Training Unit. He is provincially certified in use of force instruction, and responsible for training all Vancouver Police officers in arrest and control. He has consulted on numerous use of force investigations, including criminal, civil, coroner’s court and Human Rights Tribunal.

Curt Petrovich
Author of “Blamed and Broken”, Journalist

Curt Petrovich has been a journalist for more than 40 years, most of that time working for CBC as a national reporter. Over those decades Curt has reported on countless critical incidents, natural catastrophes and humanitarian crises in Canada, the United States, Japan, East Africa and the Philippines. His investigative work includes the discovery of a plot hatched inside the office of Manitoba’s premier to steal a provincial election. Curt’s reporting prompted a public inquiry and earned him the Michener award for public service journalism. In B.C., Curt’s coverage of the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver’s International Airport began on the day Dziekanski died in 2007, when four RCMP officers used a Taser in an effort to subdue him. Curt’s book, Blamed and Broken, was published in 2019 and stands as the only complete and comprehensive investigation into more than a decade of inquiries and criminal trials spawned by Dziekanski’s fatal encounter with police.

Curt’s writing has also been featured in The Tyee, The National Post and he has worked as a documentary consultant for projects produced in Canada and the UK. Since 2020 he has been a sessional journalism instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic Institute in Surrey, B.C.

He retired from CBC in 2023.

Presentation Topic:

From the moment four RCMP officers arrived at Vancouver International Airport in the wee hours of an October morning in 2007, their split-second decision to use a Taser to subdue an erratic, incoherent Polish immigrant was under relentless scrutiny. In a matter of less than a minute, a chain of events was set in motion that would lead to the deaths of no less than three people and launch investigations that continue to this day. Three of the four officers involved were rookies and had never used a conducted energy weapon in the line of duty. Over the years they never wavered from their accounts that they followed their training. But they were nonetheless vilified by a long-running public inquiry and criminal trials that followed, leaving them to shoulder the blame for the RCMP’s failures. Journalist Curt Petrovich has spent the better part of the last 20 years examining the case, and will offer some insights into what happened, what it meant for police use of force in Canada, and whether it could happen again.

Ronald J. MacDonald, KC
Chief Civilian Director (IIO)

Ronald J. MacDonald, KC, began his appointment as the Chief Civilian Director (CCD) of the Independent Investigations Office on October 24, 2017. He comes to British Columbia from Nova Scotia, where he held a similar role for the previous six years as the first director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).

Ron has practiced law since 1985, and has spent his career working within the criminal justice system. He was a defence counsel for six years and then worked for 17 years as a Crown Attorney. He also spent three years as the criminal law policy advisor for Nova Scotia’s Department of Justice. He has further demonstrated his commitment to the community by coaching a variety of sports, chairing boards, and volunteering at the 2010 Winter Olympics.  He also helped create the first Sexual Assault Response Team in his hometown of Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

Ron was the president of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (2005-06) and president of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (2010-11). He currently serves as vice president of the Canadian Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement and was president from 2019 to 2021.

Ron received his King’s Counsel designation in 2002. In 2007 he was awarded the National Heads of Prosecutions Humanitarian Award in recognition of his professional and community efforts. He also received the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society’s Distinguished Service Award in 2015, and in the same year was named a member of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie’s Bertha Wilson Honour Society, recognizing extraordinary alumni and their contributions to law and society.

Brad Fawcett
Use of Force Coordinator, BC Police Academy

Brad Fawcett retired as the Sgt. i/c of Research and Special Projects for the VPD Force Options Training Unit. He is a 31-year police veteran and has worked in patrol, jail, crowd control, and training. He was a staff member at the BC Police Academy for over seven years where he instructed use of force, physical fitness, drill, and tactical courses involving high-risk vehicle stops, building containment and searching, active shooter, and mental preparedness. Brad is also a master hypnotist and clinical hypnotherapist working with athletes to improve their performances. He is a court-qualified use-of- force and non-firearms prohibited weapons expert. He has provided opinion evidence in Coroners’ Inquests, civil trials, criminal trials up to and including the Supreme Court of British Columbia, labour relations hearings, public hearings, and a commission of inquiry. Brad has been a faculty member of three Law of Policing Conferences (Canada) and The International Law Enforcement Forum in Northern Ireland. He was a faculty member at the 2019 International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in Chicago where he presented with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and has been a staff instructor at several international use of force conferences. Brad has an extensive resume related to use of force. He has developed manuals and courses from conception through provincial approval. He has been a sessional instructor at a post-secondary institution where has instructed Ethics for a Law Enforcement Environment and Professional Communications and was the Canadian director of the International Association of Ethics Trainers (IAET) for ten years. Brad is the current BC Police Academy Use of Force Coordinator.

Presentation Topic:

Risk vs. Threat: What’s the difference and does it matter?

At last year’s Use of Force Expert Conference, a presenter suggested police officers were inflating risk to a level of threat to justify their use of force and, inevitably, an officer was going to be prosecuted because a mere ‘risk’ did not justify their use of force. A cursory review of reasons for judgment, the use of force policies of various law enforcement agencies, police training materials, and provincial policing standards suggest the terms are used interchangeably. Generally, ‘risk’ is associated with ‘possibility’ where ‘threat’ is more closely associated with ‘probability’. Boisvert (2022) opined that the reasonable grounds to believe standard includes a standard of probability. An officer exercising power based on reasonable grounds must believe in the probability that certain facts or a certain situation exists. This presentation will discuss the risk-threat continuum and its implication in use of force investigations by oversight bodies as well as the implications for members when articulating their use of force when using these terms.

Alex Henderson
Police Academy Legal Counsel, JIBC

Alex has been with the BC Prosecution Service since May 2005 and has had many different roles as Crown Counsel over that time.  He has prosecuted files in Provincial and Supreme Court, was a prosecutor at Downtown Community Court and a member of the Intimate Partner Violence Team. Prior to becoming the Professional Development Crown Alex gained extensive experience both conducting trials and front-end work in courthouses in the lower mainland and was seconded to the Surrey Six trial team for 3 years.  Alex has been the Professional Development Crown for the BCPS since March 2021.

Dr. Garth Davies
Simon Fraser University (SFU)

Dr. Garth Davies is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and is the Associate Director of the Institute of Violence, Terrorism, and Security at SFU. Dr. Davies has been involved with numerous policing-based research projects, and is the author or co-author of dozens of reports and articles related to policing and public safety. His previous work has focused on policing disorderly crowds and riots. At present, he is working on a multi-year analysis of police use of force. He has also presented at briefings for the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (“E” Division), the Canadian Security Intelligence Services, and Public Safety Canada, and has testified on national security issues in front of both the Canadian Parliament, as well as the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defense.

Ravi Hira K.C.
Hira Rowan LLP

Ravi Hira K.C., is a partner at Hira Rowan LLP. Prior to founding Hira Rowan LLP in April 2016, Ravi was a partner at another boutique litigation firm in downtown Vancouver.

Ravi was appointed Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel) in 1998. He was Crown Counsel from 1982 to 1988 and a Commissioner with the British Columbia Securities Commission from 1992 to 1994. Ravi was a Director of the British Columbia Law Institute from 1997 to 2004 and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Criminal Law and Reform and Criminal Justice Policy as well as an elected member of the Canadian Bar Association National and Provincial Council. He was appointed by the Attorney General of British Columbia and the Law Society of British Columbia to the List of Special Prosecutors from 2007 to 2015.

Ravi’s practice consists exclusively of counsel work. It includes complex commercial litigation cases, criminal defence cases, prosecutions on behalf of the Attorney General of British Columbia, and administrative law cases relating to professional discipline, political ethics, public inquiries, and other regulatory matters. Ravi has appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Ryan Hira
Hira Rowan LLP

Ryan is an associate at Hira Rowan LLP. Prior to being called to the British Columbia bar in 2018, Ryan completed his articles at the firm.

Ryan maintains a broad litigation practice including civil litigation, commercial litigation and criminal law. He has appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia and has also appeared in the Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories.

Ryan is a graduate from the Robson Hall at the University of Manitoba, where he was the director and founding member of the Robson Hall Racquets Club. Prior to law school, Ryan attended the University of British Columbia where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with a minor in history.

Outside of work, Ryan is an avid tennis player and has also been known to test his luck at golf and soccer.

Bob Rich
Retired Abbotsford Police Chief

Bob was a police officer for 38 years; 28 years in Vancouver, and 10 years in Abbotsford. At VPD, Bob worked in a number of positions including legal advisor to the Chief, union president, professional standards, the Downtown Eastside, and as the Deputy Chief of Operations. Bob left Vancouver to be the Chief at APD. During his time at APD, when the Department went through some difficult times, he focused on what could be done to keep members well while doing a difficult job.

Bob retired from policing in 2018 and in 2021, re-qualified to practice law, and has been working as an associate counsel at the law firm of Wilson Butcher.

Presentation Topic:

The Wolves at the Door
Police officers encounter different kinds of stress in their career. When a member uses force in a potentially deadly force encounter, they often face the trifecta of trauma, organizational stress, and long term-toxic stress. We have not done a good job of identifying these stressors, understanding their impact and considering what can be done to mitigate them. What can we do to support a member who has to walk through this kind of event?

Dr. Bill MacEwan
Urban Psychiatry Program, St. Paul’s Hospital

Currently, Dr. MacEwan runs the Urban Psychiatry Program at St. Paul’s Hospital. He is the medical lead for the Downtown Community Court psychiatric teams. Dr. MacEwan is the former Head of Psychiatry at St. Paul’s Hospital and is the clinical lead in the Hotel Study, a cohort study of the health, addiction and mental health of 500 residents of the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver.

Dr. MacEwan graduated from UBC in medicine and completed his specialty training in psychiatry at UBC in 1987. His clinical and research interest has always focused on psychosis.

Academically Dr. MacEwan is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC and Associate Department Head, Clinical Affairs, UBC, Department of Psychiatry.  His research interests have been in the study of novel antipsychotics in the treatment of Schizophrenia; he has also been looking at clinical correlates of Schizophrenia, Early Psychosis and Addiction. 

Bill has worked in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver for the last 19 years. Initially this work was psychiatric outreach to the single room occupancy hotels in the DTES. His present work now also involves working at the Downtown Community Court (DCC) in the DTES. The mental health teams in DCC allow the opportunity to use the court as a health point of contact for individuals with extreme mental health issues.  The DCC Mental Health programs help patients with their illness and prevent them from entering into further problems with criminal behavior.

Bill lives in Surrey and has a blended family of 7 children, 5 horses, 2 Sicilian miniature donkeys, Pedro and Al as well as 2 dogs, Biff and Eva.

Superintendent Jennifer Keyes
Director, JIBC Police Academy

Superintendent Jennifer Keyes was appointed Director of the Police Academy in October 2022, joining JIBC on secondment from the Vancouver Police Department where she has served since 1999. Prior to her policing career, Supt. Keyes was a lawyer, working both in private practice and as Crown with the Public Prosecution Service of British Columbia. She is a former graduate of the Police Academy, as well as a former instructor in JIBC’s Law Enforcement Studies Diploma program.

Her service with the VPD has allowed her to excel in the delivery of training as well as financial and administrative competencies. She has served the VPD as its legal training officer and later was its project manager for the implementation of the Ecomm-911 $60-million public-safety communications technology initiative.

Supt. Keyes has held positions in the VPD’s Operations Division and prior to her role with JIBC, was a Discipline Authority with the VPD Professional Standards Section where she was responsible for the disposition of Police Act conduct complaints. Her policing background includes a career focused on VPD members’ professional development, and in joining the JIBC Police Academy she aims to bring that wealth of knowledge and experience to the provincial level.

Inspector Rom Ranallo
Vancouver Police Department

Rom is in his 25th year of policing. He joined the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) after graduating from the University of British Columbia (UBC) with a Master of Science Degree. He spent the first eight years in patrol and was an original member of the Beat Enforcement Team (BET) policing the notorious Downtown Eastside. In 2007, he transferred to the Firearms Training Team (FTT) where he held portfolios in pistol, shotgun and carbine. In 2009, Rom led the FTT transition to the Tactical Training Centre (TTC). Promoted to sergeant in 2012; he was transferred to the VanJail as the OIC. He returned to the FTT in 2014 as the sergeant i/c developing several use of force (UOF) programs from conception to implementation. As a member of the Provincial Firearms Working Group (PFWG), he played a key role in establishing new pistol training and qualification standards. In 2021, Rom became the Rangemaster for the TTC. In 2022, Rom was promoted to Staff Sergeant and assigned to Training Services where he oversees all training in the VPD. Rom is currently the lead instructor for the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) Pistol Instructor Course and regularly instructs recruits in pistol at the Provincial Police Academy. Rom holds over 20 course certifications as it relates to UOF. Rom has trained police officers in firearms and related tactics at the municipal, provincial, federal, and international level. Inspector Ranallo has presented at numerous conferences including the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA), International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

Inspector Ranallo coordinated and hosted the VPD’s first Red Dot Sights (RDS) For Duty Pistols Instructors Course and continues to be part of the RDS instructor cadre.

Rick Parent, PhD
Retired Associate Professor, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University

Rick served as a Delta police officer for 30 years including two secondments to the JIBC Police Academy. Rick has published books and articles in the area of community policing, police ethics, the police use of lethal force and the phenomena of suicide by cop. He is qualified as an expert witness and has testified in Canada and the USA. Further info can be found at: www.rickparent.ca

Presentation Topic:

The phenomenon of Victim Precipitated Homicide, also known as Suicide by Cop.
Rick analyses 58 documented incidents in B.C., from 1980 to 1994, in which police officers were confronted by a potentially lethal threat. In 27 of these incidents, police responded by discharging their firearms and killing 28 people. Roughly half of these cases are victim-precipitated homicide. In the remaining 31 cases, police responded with less lethal force. Rick's Ph.D. research (2004) analyses 843 documented cases in the United States and Canada where police have discharged their firearms typically while facing a lethal threat.

This presentation discusses the physiological, psychological, physical, and emotional impact that has occurred to many of the police officers who have taken the life of another or who have faced a lethal threat during the course of their duties. These individuals have experienced a life-threatening event that often extends beyond the officer to their family and close friends. This presentation recommends that operational police personnel be made aware of the dynamics associated with victim-precipitated homicide with a particular emphasis on the phenomenon of suicide-by-cop. Police training should also give serious consideration to establishing rigorous training in relation to dealing with irrational individuals who are vulnerable owing to factors that may include suicidal ideation, psychosis, emotional upheaval, and the influence of a substance.