VANCOUVER - The B.C. Criminal Justice Branch wants a judge to review a ruling made at an inquiry into the death of an aboriginal man about why two Vancouver police officers weren't charged in the incident.

Commissioner William Davies is heading an inquiry into the death of Frank Paul, who was found frozen to death on Dec. 6, 1998, after he'd been dumped in an alley by a police officer.

Davies ruled last month he wants five prosecutors to provide information on what procedures they followed in deciding not to recommend charges against the officer who left Paul in the alley or a sergeant who refused the man admission to the city drunk tank.

Stan Lowe, who speaks for the Crown, said Monday prosecutors make their charge decisions independently and that vital protection for all citizens must be maintained.

"This ruling opens the door for government, special interest groups and others to put pressure on Crown prosecutors to proceed with criminal charges in circumstances where they are not warranted," Lowe said.

"This pressure would lead to a chilling effect on the charge-approval process, increase the danger of wrongful convictions and adversely impact prosecution services across Canada."

The Criminal Justice Branch has said it would provide a knowledgeable staff member to give a broad overview at the ongoing inquiry, but not the prosecutors themselves.

In his written ruling against the Crown's position, Davies said that's not good enough, adding the Criminal Justice Branch has been under a cloud for almost a decade about the case.

There were five separate charge assessments in Paul's case between May 1999 and April 2004.

The inquiry began last November, when Paul's cousin, Peggy Clement, testified police told her family that Paul was killed in a hit-and-run accident and left to die in a ditch, where his body was discovered a month later.

It wasn't until three years later that the man's relatives in New Brunswick and Maine learned he'd been in police custody just before he died in an alley.

Vancouver police conducted an internal investigation and handed out one-and two-day suspensions to the officers involved.