Saturday, April 9, 2011

To Serve and Protect



Another problem we are clearing seeing in Canada or at least in B.C. along with the police brutality is the sheer arrogance that goes along with it. The underlying mandate of to serve and protect has been completely lost.

Of course not all police officers in Canada are bad. Yet the documented problem is much worse than a few bad apples. I had a conflict with an off duty police officer not long ago myself. He was a confrontational bully who bold faced lied about something to get his way. I was shocked. It reminded me of the New Westminster use of force trainer who got drunk before assaulting and robbing a newspaper delivery man in Vancouver. His recollection of the events was a complete contradiction to the victims recollection and two witnesses observations.

Being a bully and assaulting someone is bad enough but lying in court. Coming from a peace officer that is shocking which once again brings us to the lost mandate of serving and protecting the public.

When the use of force trainer is caught red handed beating the tar out of an innocent victim then using his station as a use of force trainer to intimidate a younger police officer from pressing charges, that use of force trainer cannot be the use of force trainer any more. To continue to do so would be to mock the public interest and demonstrate further arrogance and disregard for public safety.

It is past time for a civilian agency.

3 comments:

  1. More on Agent K's remarks on our Police problems;

    "The head of Kelowna's RCMP detachment is recommending that Const. Geoff Mantler face formal disciplinary action for disgraceful conduct in all three on-duty assaults of which he's accused."

    "Mantler has been charged with assault in two cases, including an incident Jan. 7, when he was caught on camera kicking a man in the face during an arrest."

    "The B.C. Crown announced Thursday it would not lay charges against Mantler in a third case of alleged assault, reported to have occurred on Aug. 10, 2010."

    "The officer remains suspended with pay."



    http://tinyurl.com/3z3wd6n

    Again the BC public is forced to look on as yet another assault case involving the Province's Police forces goes through Court, without any formal charges on a videotaped Police assault. Any member of the public facing a similarly recorded violent charge, would be charged with a felony, and charges would carry serious penalties.

    The number of cases like this, and the across-the-board refusal to sanction those charged in any way, can only lead to a lack of respect for the Police. That is the worst thing that can happen, caught up as we are in the Province's worst crime-wave in history.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Citizens are watching as four RCMP Officers are charged with nothing more than perjury in the Inquiry into the death @ YVR of a Polish man.

    A comment here from a citizen captures the issue for us members of the public well;

    "The point ... is that the police in this country are supposed to be acting in the public interest, but that is not what's happening. We don't live in some third world cesspool, we expect better. The actions of the mounties involved in the Dziekanski case, as well as all the other known cases before the courts, indicate a more than mere disrespect for the public they are supposed to be serving. Attitudes in policing must change from the top down. If that doesn't happen, the notion that they are just one big blue gang, no different from all the other gangs (except for their legality) will persist and public confidence will be lost."

    http://tinyurl.com/3uncc37

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah that’s a good point. The perjury in the taser incident is disturbing but not surprising.

    ReplyDelete

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