B.C.’s first police watchdog into officer-involved incidents says he’ll leave

VICTORIA – British Columbia’s first police watchdog is resigning from his post at the end of his term.

Richard Rosenthal has informed the provincial government that he won’t seek reappointment next January as the chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office.

Rosenthal has led the agency since it was established in 2012 as a police oversight body looking into incidents of serious injury or death involving police officers.

Attorney General Suzanne Anton says Rosenthal has been instrumental in establishing the agency and advancing its mandate to ensure that investigations are dealt with promptly, appropriately and independently.

The office was created to eliminate the perception of bias of police investigating other officers.

The IIO was set up after separate inquiries into the deaths of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver’s airport and Frank Paul, who was dropped off in an alley by a Vancouver officer and later found dead of hypothermia.