Reflections, Observations, and Analyses Pertaining to the Canadian Political Scene
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
The Virtues Of Restraint
Unfortunately, some police do not seem to be troubled in the least by such considerations. Deluded into thinking that their word and version of events is virtually sacrosanct, countless allegations have arisen over the years of police beatings of civilians; in the majority of instances, absent of corroborating evidence, the offending officers' versions of events have carried the day.
With the advent of camera-equipped cellphones and the proliferation of public surveillance cameras, that dynamic has been slowly changing, each publicly-posted video eroding both police credibility and public confidence in the job they are entrusted with. Two of a myriad of examples include the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto and the recent killing of Sammy Yatim.
In the print edition of today's Star (I'll provide the link when the online column becomes available), Rosie Dimanno excoriates disgraced Barrie cop Jason Neville, recently sentenced to a one-year jail term for the unprovoked beating of Jason Stern outside of a Barrie mall on November 20, 2010. A public surveillance video (shown below) captures both the senselessness and the brutality of the beating inflicted by Nevill on what appears to be a totally passive and compliant Stern.
It also makes clear how extensively he perjured himself in his claims that Stern kneed him in the groin and was 'extensively intoxicated'.
What was at the root of this senseless attack? An ornament atop the mall's Christmas tree, accidentally broken by a friend of Stern.
I'll leave you with the video and a few choice word from Rosie's column to describe the guilty cop:
Thug. Liar. Bully. Disgrace. Felon.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Irony Of Police 'Sensitivity'
In responding to The Toronto Star's series, Police Who Lie, Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, complains that the investigative project is a gross misrepresentation of police practices, and condemns it for using a presentation style disturbingly similar to the covers of tabloid magazines that grab your attention while you’re standing in the checkout line at the grocery store.
The sad truth is that the police have no one but themselves to blame when their behaviour is held up to public scrutiny and found wanting. And what McCormack fails to acknowledge is that the public has every right to know about misconduct which, in the case of the Toronto Police, has taken many forms, lying in court being only one of them.
Who, for example, can forget the wiretapping and surveillance conducted upon former Police Services Board Chair Susan Eng, done when Mike's father, William, was the Toronto Police Chief? Eng attributed this illegal activity to the fact that prior to becoming chair of the board, she had been a vocal critic of the police.
Then, as just another example, there was Craig Bromell, former head of the police union now being led by Mike McCormack. In cases of involving investigation by the SIU, Bromell told his members not to co-operate with its inquiries and threatened lawsuits against police critics. Such directives and threats hardly fostered an environment conducive to the public trust that the constabulary seems to believe is its due.
The infamous G20 misconduct, in which Toronto police played a key role, is well-knowned, attested to even by voices as credible as Steve Paikin's.
So I'm sorry that public scrutiny so-much disheartens Mike McCormack and his troops, but he is going to have to learn that because police wield so much power, they must be held to the highest standards, and if they want to avoid criticism, they are going to have to govern themselves by those standards.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Another Victory For The Star
Ontario’s chief prosecutor will probe the issue of police officers who are found by judges to have lied in court.
Attorney General John Gerretsen made the announcement Monday following a Toronto Star investigation that found more than 100 cases of police deception in Ontario and across the country.
“The most important thing is that people tell the truth in court. The question really becomes: if a judge makes a serious comment (about an officer’s testimony) what should happen?” said Gerretsen.
As a citizen, I am heartened to know that solid investigative reporting is still being done at a time when most journals have abandoned it as a costly and quixotic pursuit.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The Star Continues To Shine A Light On Some Very Dark Places
Thus begins the third part of the Star's investigation into police officers who abuse their authority and subsequently perjure themselves in court, usually with no subsequent punishment from their departments.
You can read all of the sordid details here.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Why The Star Is The Real 'Newspaper Of Record'
While its response to the investigation could be cynically dismissed as a political one, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police now says that
... the justice system should report police officers who are found by judges to have lied, misled the court or fabricated evidence.
“If a judge perceives that an officer has not fulfilled his oath of honesty, a judge should report it to a police service. The national association would naturally support mechanisms that would ensure this happens,” said association spokesperson Timothy Smith.
Despite the dismissal of the series by Mark Pugash, who has basically said that The Star doesn't know what it is talking about and can't be taken seriously, the chair of the civilian oversight Toronto Police Services Board, Alok Mukherjee, told the Star he is troubled by this “serious issue” and wants something done to stop the lies from eroding the public’s trust in his police force.
At a time when the majority of mainstream media seem to be constrained by the agenda of their corporate masters, it is reassuring that The Toronto Star continues in unfettered fashion to pursue important work leading to a better Canada.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Police Who Lie Under Oath - Part 2
Saturday, February 11, 2012
2012 - A New Year, But For Peel Police, The Malfeasance Continues
As reported in today's Star, members of the Peel drug squad lied in court about a beating they administered to a suspected drug dealer, Tan-Hung Dinh. Const. Ian Dann, along with constables Jason Hobson, Jay Kirkpatrick and Steve Roy, were part of a sting operation that for no apparent reason resulted in their thrashing Dinh inside of a hotel room. Dinh's lawyer, Leora Shemesh, applied to have the drug charges stayed or evidence excluded. She alleged there were numerous Charter violations during the arrest.
Having no choice but to throw out all charges except for one relating to possession of cocaine, Superior Court Justice Deena Baltman gave the following damning assessment of the officers involved:
“The police lied under oath in order to cover up (an) illegal search and persisted in their lying when confronted with the most damning of evidence. All these misdeeds were calculated, deliberate and utterly avoidable,” and then added,
“The police showed contempt not just for the basic rights of every accused but for the sanctity of a courtroom,” ... referring to four officers from the force’s drug and vice unit, who are involved in a multitude of other narcotics cases in Peel.
Despite the ordering of an internal investigation by Peel Police Chief Mike Metcalf, critics are not holding their breath that anything will change, given the failure of past investigations to yield any results. Indeed, one assumes if the force were really serious about cleaning up corruption, they would ask an independent force to investigate.
Perhaps the most damning indicator that nothing will change is that even though the judge's findings have been known to the Chief since last fall, the malefactors remain on active duty.