The interim report of Commissioner William Davies, Commissioner of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Frank Paul, has been released to the public, more than a month after it was delivered to the Attorney General of British Columbia. The report says that the justice system failed Frank Paul and his family and calls for sweeping reforms, including eliminating the current approach of having police investigating police when they are implicated in a civilian death.

The entire report is available online at www.frankpaulinquiry.ca.

The public comments of Mr. Davies, a well-respected former British Columbia Supreme Court justice, can be found here:

REMARKS OF COMMISSIONER Press Conference March 12 2009

The report is not complete, as the Attorney General has appealed a BC Supreme Court decision upholding Commissioner Davies’ order that the Crown prosecutors involved in the case testify at the inquiry. That aspect of the case, that centers on the Crown’s repeated decisions to lay no charges, has been argued and we are awaiting a decision from the Court of Appeal.

That said, it is hard to avoid the unsettling notion that anyone other than a uniformed police officer who had caused a death like Frank Paul’s would have been charged with criminal negligence causing death in no time.