The BCCLA has released a new report that says B.C. has more than twice as many jail and police-involved deaths as Ontario, even though Ontario has three times the population. With 267 deaths over the last 15 years, B.C. had the largest number of deaths per year of any of the six provinces and territories for which numbers were available. The BCCLA says this … [Read more...]
Are Ontario Police above the Law?
Are Ontario Police above the Law? A report in today's Toronto Star suggests they are. The Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is charged with investigating serious injuries and deaths caused by police has a near-perfect record of exonerating police officers. Cases where ordinary citizens would serve serious jail time often merit nothing more than a slap on … [Read more...]
Australian Police taking Taser Use Lessons from the RCMP?
In a particularly horrifying example of police using excessive force, 9 Australian police officers were caught on tape brutally tasering an unarmed man inside a police station. The only upside to this story is that the man on the receiving end didn't die. ...an unarmed man who refused to undergo a strip search in a Perth police station is heard screaming as he is Tasered … [Read more...]
RCMP Pepper-sprays an infant. Just what they needed, more bad press…
Sechelt RCMP "feared for their safety" when faced with a crowd of happy kids who just won a soccer tournament. I guess a bunch of kids with trophies in their hands are pretty scary... a "routine traffic stop" has now become a major incident between the RCMP and the Sechelt Indian Band, where the traffic stop happened. To put people in their place and show them who's the boss, … [Read more...]
Public Inquiry into Kamloops RCMP Sex Scandal
The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) is launching an investigation into the four RCMP members who were caught watching two female prisoners have sex in Kamloops RCMP cells on Aug. 18. In a press release issued on September 28th, the CPC stated: Ian McPhail, Interim Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC), has launched a … [Read more...]
Word of Montague Home Seizure by Ontario Gov’t Spreads
Bad news travels fast. So the old saying goes, I think. It's certainly true in the case of the Ontario government's intention of stealing the Montague family home while hiding behind the Civil Remedies Act's forfeiture clause for "proceeds of crime". I found a link to the case on some Canadian firearm chat boards, as well as on blogs across the country. My prayer is … [Read more...]
Const. Aubrey Zalaski’s “Excessive Force” charges
It only took seven years for some small measure of justice for Timothy Ferguson. Alberta's Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB) has ordered Edmonton Chief of Police Mike Boyd to charge Const. Aubrey Zalaski with unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority for applying a level of force inappropriate for the circumstances. The LERB concluded "that an objectively reasonable … [Read more...]
Why do we reward criminals?
Take, for example, the case of the Toronto storekeeper David Chen. The crack addict who stole from him was sentenced to 90 days, but as soon as he was to testify for the Crown against Chen, his sentence was dropped to 30 days. Is Chen that dangerous to the status quo that he must be crushed along with our collective sense of dignity and self-respect? Is he so … [Read more...]
Donna Montague Needs Your Help
Donna Montague asks supporters of her family to write to the Ontario Attorney General and ask that the forfeiture proceeding against their family home be dropped. September 30, 2010 Dear Supporters; Refer to this page for current instructions on writing to Bruce. http://www.brucemontague.ca/html/0407.html Last Thursday, Sept 23rd , I received a letter from the Ontario … [Read more...]
Crown Proceeds with Forfeiture Hearing on Montague Home
Ontario Crown Counsel is moving forward with their attempted theft of the Montague family home. Using the civil forfeiture provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act, senior counsel James McKeachie sent the following letter to the Montagues on September 17th. 17 September 2010 I am writing you to you directly because I understand from our previous communications that you … [Read more...]
VIN SUPRYNOWICZ: It’s fine for police to kill people, so long as there’s no ‘ill will’
VIN SUPRYNOWICZ: It's fine for police to kill people, so long as there's no 'ill will' Do we live in a free country or a police state? In a free country, police live under and must obey the same laws as the rest of us. In a police state, government police enjoy special laws and protections that allow them to do things that would be considered crimes if done by the rest … [Read more...]
Bankrupting the Jaworski’s for Daring To Host a Freedom Conference
Property Rights... they don't actually exist in Canada under Trudeau's Charter. Most don't realize that. Worse still, Canada's Supreme Court has upheld this fact in the Authorson v. Canada (Attorney General), 2003 SCC 39, [2003] 2 S.C.R. 40. In that case, the SCC upheld Parliament's right to steal veterans pensions, because Parliament had made clear its intent to do … [Read more...]
Some RCMP Members Just Can’t Help Themselves…
Some RCMP members just can't stop themselves from behaving badly, and the entire force looks bad because of it. A story out of Kamloops, BC leaves me shaking my head. Four RCMP officers and three civilian municipal staff at a Kamloops jail are under criminal and internal code of conduct investigations for their action, or rather their inaction, and watching of two inmates … [Read more...]
Cleveland’s “Garbage Police” Are After You
Someone sent me this video clip from Fox News about Cleveland's new high-tech garbage and recycling cans. I was laughing until I realized the Cleveland City representative was 100% okay with fining you if you don't take your recycling to the curb when they say you should. Or that Cleveland's new "garbage police" would go through your garbage piece by piece and fine you if … [Read more...]
Steal Ammunition From RCMP, do NOT go to Jail
Imagine this scenario. You retired from the RCMP after 29 years of service with the rank of Staff Sergeant. You returned as a civilian firearms trainer at the RCMP Regina Depot facility. You have full access to the RCMP's ammunition and firearms lockups. You steal ammunition and take it home. You get caught. You get charged with the crime. But do yo do the time? Not if … [Read more...]
Cerebral Palsy Woman Abused By Vancouver City Police
Wow. A Vancouver City Police constable, strolling down the street with two fellow "officers" were caught on camera pushing a woman to the ground, and then walking away. Disgusting. Truly disgusting. The VPD officer was NOT suspended, nor, as far as anyone can tell, reprimanded in any way.He wrote a letter of apology for his actions, if you can call "I thought at the time … [Read more...]
BC Civil Liberties Assn wants to hear from you
The BC Civil Liberties Association is holding a series of public workshops to gather the thoughts of rural British Columbians about the RCMP. BCCLA Executive Director, lawyer, and author of the Arrest Handbook: A Guide to Your Rights, David Eby will be visiting 14 BC interior and northern centers to hear what people have to say. The workshops will also be teaching sessions, … [Read more...]
The utter Depravity of Man (and woman ) kind
I read recently that Samantha Kematch, the Manitoba woman convicted of gruesomely beating her 5-year-old child Phoenix to death, has decided to drop her planned appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. On what grounds she was planning to appeal is unknown. News reports dating back to 2005 paint a pretty horrific picture of Phoenix's life. Apparently beaten from the time she … [Read more...]
Government Soldiers Murder More Citizens
Whenever anyone says that guns in the hands of civilians are a problem, I wonder if they live very sheltered lives. Here in North America we truly do exist in a vacuum. We think that the world's problems cannot reach us, despite 9/11 and other atrocities proving that head-in-the-sand attitude quite wrong. In Columbia some kids were getting sick from the drinking water. … [Read more...]
Unintended Consequences: Proceeds of Crime Laws
Across North America, states and provinces alike have rushed to embrace "proceeds of crime" laws. Essentially, what these laws do is give police and government the power to seize private property from people they believe have broken the law. Many jurisdictions also provide for the seizing authority or police force to keep the goods … [Read more...]