The other day I wrote about the case of Sammy Sobieh, the Edmonton business owner who was [allegedly] the subject of police brutality at the hands of the Edmonton Police Service.
In the video released to the public of that event, it is clear that Sammy Sobieh is both unarmed and compliant with police demands. Yes, even though there is no audio and despite the protests of Edmonton Police Services mouthpieces, this is pretty darned clear.
The video shows Mr. Sobieh stop, raise his hands above his head and then turn around before he is swarmed and beaten by three of Edmonton's "finest."
While these three armed men clearly felt they were in the right, the common sentiment of "mere citizens" is that these guys were totally out of line.
You don't have to agree with me on this. That's cool. But I've got two videos I want you to watch before you tell me which action is more "reasonable," the actions of these three Edmonton Police Service members dealing with an unarmed man, or the actions of the Bogota (Colombia) police when dealing with a knife-wielding man who is clearly a threat to everyone near him.
You will see the following after watching both of these video clips:
1. Edmonton cops pointed guns at the head of Sammy Sobieh even though he was NOT armed and was NOT posing any threat to anyone.
2. Bogota Police do NOT have their guns drawn in the face of a man who is clearly threatening them, and the cop who is CLOSEST to the man with the knife doesn't even have his arms raised to defend himself.
3. Edmonton cops beat the crap out of the unarmed man they consider a threat, and finally,
4. Bogota cops never even strike the man they are faced with. The only cop that comes even close is the one who knocks the knife out of the man's hand before others take him to the ground and handcuff him. The video shows not a single Bogota cop felt a need to throw a punch throughout the entire incident.
Clearly our North American police forces can learn a thing or two about how to deal with the public from the Bogota Police.
Who would ever have believed that a sentence like that would actually make sense...
Video 1 -- Edmonton Police Services attack Sammy Sobieh
Video 2 - Bogota Police disarm a knife-wielding man without beating the crap out of him.
A big "Thank You!" to Don Laird for sending me these videos.
This is how it’s done….period, end of story, full stop.
This is Colombia where you would think this man’s life expectancy after pulling a knife would be measured in seconds….not so…he was successfully disarmed by very professional police officers working in a third world country..
Compare that to many of our officers up here in Canada….pucks and thugs with guns who delight in using excessive and lethal force….
Perhaps we should send some Edmonton cops down to Bogota…..not to train Colombian cops…..BUT TO BE TRAINED BY COLOMBIAN COPS…
Nice work Christopher….
Hello Christopher. I just got back from 2 days of meeting in Port Hardy and the people from a lot of the communities have relayed this to me and others . They do not trust Police and RCMP
I met with leaders and member s of first nations communities and it is the same there as well. Police dont come when needed and do come when not wanted. The words used by others are corruption and they help criminals not regular people. I sat in a hospital waiting room with a feind and people there were discussing RCMP in the negative. the new titles for the R = Real C= crimonals M= manipulating P= People was the common theme . I heard a lot fo true stories and it is overwheliming that thye get all this money for what are they organized crime?
Good job this guy was in Columbia, or he’d be dead..
The police in Canada seem to treat every weapon as if it were a deadly a stapler wielded by a confused immigrant..
In our culture, too much emphasis is placed on “officer safety” over the safety of the general public.(including those the police have to detain or take into custody) If you want a “safe” job, don’t become a police officer.
The constabulary should be taught that they are to SERVE and protect primarily the PUBLIC, not themselves.
Individual police officers and police organizations need to be held to account for every action they take, from writing tickets right on up to lethal force.
The problems with police nowadays is that they seem to think they are soldiers. Too many tactical teams. Too many big-pocket trousers and other military-style accoutrements. Unless and until the taxpayers make clear that we are paying their salaries for our benefit, and not for the benefit of the Walter Mitty fantasists who give the rest of the police a bad name, these sorts of incidents will keep on coming.