The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are no strangers to the finer arts of propaganda. What else do you call an official press release that claims "operational success" after launching a stun grenade into the wrong address and then holding an innocent man at gunpoint? Well, I personally would start with "incompetent". Incompetent is a good word for not being able to get … [Read more...]
RCMP constables continue to show a complete lack of common sense
An unnamed RCMP constable with only 18 months on the job tazered an 11-year-old boy outside of Prince George. Reports say there were three RCMP members on the scene at the time. Are three trained adults really so terrified of a single 11-year-old that they have to resort to tazering a child? If they are, we really need to question what sort of training recruits are actually … [Read more...]
More RCMP Double-Standards in Sentencing for Criminal Convictions
RCMP constable Desmond Sandboe was caught on RCMP surveillance video beating the crap out of a prisoner inside the Lac La Biche RCMP detachment. It is admirable that Crown Counsel moved forward with charges, and that he was actually convicted of assault. Where the system breaks down is the double-standard for sentencing of police officers. For the brutal and apparently … [Read more...]
Sounds like members of Atlanta PD’s Red Dog unit should be working as TSA screeners
More stories are surfacing about members of Atlanta Police Department’s Red Dog unit, an anti-drug unit, that suggest these police officers would be better suited to working as TSA airport screeners. In a case that happened last June in a traffic stop, two men in a vehicle were pulled over by members of the Red Dog unit. Routine traffic stop, right? Well, only if your idea … [Read more...]
Rioting in Seattle over Police Shooting?
After seeing what pissed-off citizens can do under dictatorships in the middle east, it’s no wonder that North Americans are seeing public protests as a viable means of expression for their distaste with corrupt authorities. Last summer native wood carver John Williams was shot and killed by Seattle Police officer Ian Burk “mere seconds” after confronting Williams on a … [Read more...]
Another RCMP Thug, Constable Jack Cunningham, gets away with it
So far, RCMP Const. Jack Cunningham is getting away with his verbal and physical abuse of Leslie James Lattery in July 2009. In what appears to have become standard RCMP procedure when an RCMP member beats the crap out of someone, it was Lattery who was charged with assault, resisting arrest, assaulting a peace officer and uttering a death threat. All of these charges … [Read more...]
Winnipeg Police Over-react, justify their gross actions
It’s a scene we’ve come to see as common-place. Police are called to a situation and completely over-react. Then they justify their over-reaction and blame the victim of their abusive tactics. Frankly, it’s a scene I’m getting pretty sick of. Dorian Kennedy was standing on the staircase just inside the front door of his apartment building having a cigarette. It’s … [Read more...]
What Happened to Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani?
What Happened to Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani? That question is one I feel compelled to ask because something seems to have changed in Constable Andalib-Goortani, and not for the better. It's been reported in the Toronto Sun that in June 2008 this man put his own life at considerable risk in order to save someone he didn't even know. The Toronto Sun article … [Read more...]
Toronto Police Association despises accountability for its members
The Toronto Police Association, which claims to represent 5,500 police officers and over 2,000 civilians, despises the thought that their members should be accountable to the public. It's a position I find hard to swallow in the aftermath of the G20 summit, where almost a hundred Toronto Police Service members removed their nametags during the security crackdown. For … [Read more...]
Vancouver City Police Constables Florkow and London are always right
Vancouver City Police constables Nicholas Florkow and Bryan London are always right. Just ask them, they’ll tell you. Even when they‘re 100% wrong, like they are in a high-profile case of police brutality. They’re so convinced they did nothing wrong. in fact, that they’ve filed a petition to have a hearing into their excessive force case quashed. What they ought to be … [Read more...]
Ontario SIU clears Toronto cops in Junior Alexander Manon’s death
It’s to be expected. Seven Toronto City Police constables beat an 18-year-old man to death and are completely exonerated by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, the so-called “police oversight agency” that investigates crimes by police. What I found interesting in reading the press release on the Toronto City Police website was this: The first officer said that Mr. Manon … [Read more...]
Abbottsford Police Services – Good job on the Buddy Tavares Face-kicking case
A very large “Thank You” goes out to the Abbotsford Police for doing the right thing… on a couple of counts. It was Abbotsford Police Services that was called in to investigate a Kelowna Thug… I mean RCMP constable who kicked Buddy Tavares in the face after Mr. Tavares had the temerity to do exactly as he was directed to do by the thug. I mean, the nerve of the guy… doing … [Read more...]
Edmonton Police Services Sergeant charged with Assault
And so he should be, from what I can tell. Sgt. Kevin Douglas is a 17-year veteran of the Edmonton City Police. On March 4, 2010 he got into an argument with one of the prisoners at Edmonton’s downtown cells. He apparently lost it on the guy, who had to be taken to hospital, and also required plastic surgery to repair damage to one of his ears. The entire thing was … [Read more...]
RCMP Constable Geoff Mantler: Send this Kelowna RCMP Thug to Jail… immediately
It's becoming more and more typical of RCMP these days. Beat the crap out of you first, ask questions later. Oh, and charge you with a crime so you can't sue... can't forget about that! You'll ABSOLUTELY want to watch the video below. Then you'll want to watch the news story on this event on the Globe and Mail's website. They do a closeup on the cop kicking this poor guy … [Read more...]
Ontario Ombudsman Report on G20 Police-State Tactics
Police misconduct and thuggery ran rampant during the recent G20 event held in Toronto, Ontario. Some rose to infamy, like "Officer Bubbles". I haven't heard anything recent about his attempt to sue YouTube for posting videos that mocked him for being [allegedly] a complete and utter jerk. Others attempted to hide who they were and were apparently reprimanded, and at least … [Read more...]
Babak Andalib-Goortani: Ontario Special Investigations Unit Actually finds wrongdoing!
It's shocking to anyone who follows the Ontario Police "lapdog"... I mean watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit. In their entire history they've almost never found a case of police misconduct that they couldn't justify. Imagine my surprise while listening to the radio this morning when they report charges would be filed against one Toronto City Police constable. It's … [Read more...]
G20 Summit — Excessive Force By Police? No, says SIU
Excessive Force By Police during the G20 Summit? Not according to Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). They are, without a doubt, the most useless police oversight group in the Canada. Police smashed people with batons, broke bones, and beat people up, but the SIU could find no wrong with police actions at the G20 Summit. I'm shocked. Okay, I'm not really. I … [Read more...]
RCMPWatch.com – What a great idea
In one of my meanderings around the web I came across the site RCMPWatch.com. The site lists news stories and various reports on the actions of RCMP members, and on the force as a whole, and the site owner has done a very comprehensive job. He's got a very detailed list of categories too, which I found impressive. Here's the blurb from their "About" page, for those … [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...]
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...]
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...]
RCMP Accountability in BC
Dave Eby, the executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association, held a weekend workshop in Prince George two weeks ago. It was part of his tour of northern and interior towns to educate people on their rights, how to exercise them effectively when dealing with the RCMP, and to get feedback on RCMP practices in the area. The general findings on the meeting were not … [Read more...]