Cops stick together
West Vancouver police grant Griffin Gillan a job for life
— and luckily for him, because the vicious punk
probably couldn’t work anywhere else
August 27, 2011
No day care centre, seniors’ residence or other service for people in care could hire Griffin Gillan, even if they wanted to. His vicious, unprovoked assault on an innocent man ruled out any chance of employment along those lines. But Gillan’s been welcomed back into the West Vancouver Police Department. The fact that he tried so hard to cling to his job, and was ultimately successful, suggests there’s no place in society for a vicious punk like Gillan except the police.
Gillan should have accepted the fact that he screwed up monstrously, in a way that shows he’s manifestly unsuited for policing, and found some other line of work. If he couldn’t understand that, the police should have made it clear to him.
But instead police complaints adjudicator Harry Boyle, police complaints hearing counsel Michael Tammen, Gillan’s lawyer David Butcher and West Vancouver Police Professional Standards Staff-Sgt. Paul Skelton — in other words, all parties except the victim — agree Gillan should resume his cop career.
Gillan once again has a safe job for life, unlike most people. He can retire in his 50s, an affluent man with a generous pension and numerous double-dipping opportunities ranging from the do-nothing transit cops to private security firms to the corrupt Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
Gillan will always be under a cloud, as will the West Van force that employs him. But that matters little to cops. They stick together, once again emphasizing that they’re people apart from mainstream society.
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