Former judge appointed commissioner in Frank Paul inquiry

A retired judge with the B.C. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories will head the public inquiry into the death of Frank Paul, an aboriginal man from New Brunswick who was dumped in an alley in Vancouver by police more than eight years ago.

The Solicitor General's office has announced that William H. Davies, who is now working as an associate counsel with an Abbotsford law firm, will lead the inquiry.

On a rainy night inDecember 1998, Paul was taken to the Vancouver drunk tank twice. A police surveillance video shows him on his first visit, crawling on his hands and knees, unable to walk.

He was returned to the lockup some hours later, this time almost unconscious.

The video shows officers dragging him by his arms into an elevator, before eventually taking him out to the alley, where they dumped him.

The 47-year-old Mi'kmaq man died of exposure.

Two officers were disciplined internally, and the police department had considered the case closed.

B.C.'s police complaints commissioner, Dirk Ryneveld, had called for a public inquiry into the case three years ago, but that recommendation was rejected by the provincial government.

Last month, the government changed its mind and ordered an inquiry.

Ryneveld was offered the job of heading that inquiry, but he turned it down because of a potential conflict with his current position.

The inquiry is expected to begin within a few months.