Tuesday 29 June 2010

No. We Will Not Forget.

As usual, our lords and masters are betting on the fact that we'll forget about the travesty that was the G20 in Toronto.

The inevitable Facebook group, Canadians Demanding an Inquiry into Toronto G20, has been created and it is already attracting attention. CBC reports that as of this morning it already had a membership of 11,400. Just now, when I joined, the membership stood at 11,785.

Let's zoom up the membership on it and get some more attention.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got Questions? Join Bob Rae @ 11:00 a.m. @ The Mark. http://www.themarknews.com/articles/1777-live-chat-bob-rae-on-the-g8-g20

What does he think of male cops strip searching young women?

tdwebste said...

An external audit of police conduct is required by an independent body reporting to an independent judiciary.

The audit must explain why 90mins were required to respond to the violent acts of the of Saturday by a very small number of individuals, which included burning police cars.

Why unattended police cars were parked outside a secured area? Every police department uses a secured area for parking unattended police cars.

reference
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/prgpdfs/fprs110.pdf

tdwebste said...

Why was the much more secure CNE grounds rejected, by the federal Conservatives?

Why wasn't a military base used which includes security? This would have effectively removed the need for most of the security budget.

tdwebste said...

From Judy Rebick, June 28:
"I was on CP 24 at noon with Bill McCormick, Prez of the Police Assn and he said his members were under orders not to arrest to black bloc people while they were breaking windows and setting fire to cars. When Stephen LeDrew asked why, he said that sometimes it's hard for the front line cop to understand the chain of command but he was going to ask questions of the Chief."

Anonymous said...

1. Any official identification of the officer(s) who were responsible for abandoning #766?

2. Warren Kinsella must be the second worst lawyer in Canada. He takes it on the word of some of his buddies at Queen's Park that cops have always had the power to request identification and search a person:

"I was told police already had this power – both in the above-noted public works legislation in court houses, etc., and through common law for just about anywhere. "

* emphasis added

http://warrenkinsella.com/2010/06/g20-and-the-mcguinty-government/

No Warren, not anywhere. Identification and search is allowed when the police suspect a crime has been committed, otherwise it is illegal. The kid in this video needs to brush up on his civics, but he's more correct that the cops who illegally detain him, search him and seize his private property.

Is it a crime to be a bully cop and to bluff your way through this circumstance? Perhaps not, but all of the cops in the video need a remedial course in law. Were they asleep when it was covered in class? Were they away? Maybe it wasn't on the test. Obviously they feel they can do whatever they please without consequence. They have no doubt that their job of maintaining the peace trumps the charter rights of the individual. The Charter defines the relationship of the government and its agents, such as police, with the individual person.

I suppose the kid could sue the cops in civil court. (False imprisonment, assault & battery, defamation) but who can afford to do that?

The woman officer says at about 3:50 that if they're incorrect they'll "apologize profusely". That's a laugh. Just slide by the issue of Charter rights. It is sneaky, devious, and done with a smile. The difference between this Friday encounter and the one on Sunday is the physicality, the length of time the people were held and subsequently there was real duress. No big deal for the cops they're being paid, maybe big OT, and we'll all forget about it because everything will be over. Right? That's how a well intentioned group of police officers undermines the highest law in the land and gets away with it. Then she'll apologize profusely. That's the way they roll. Cherry Beach Express. Ironically they'll be praised instead of disciplined.

This encounter reveals the thinking that leads to trouble later in the weekend and will have long term consequences for the Toronto Police. I wish I could read the badge numbers.

3. Here we are "Monday Morning quarterbacking". It occurs to me that many of the police officers don't seem to realize that they work in the public and are subject to public scrutiny on a new level. The ones who are about to misbehave know full well that they don't want to be photographed or caught on video. They certainly don't want to be held personally accountable for what they're about to do.

4. The systematic abuses by police can only be addressed at the higher levels. I wonder if Chief Bill Blair will be able to keep his job?

p2p

Anonymous said...

Ooops,

I think I forgot the link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZgjX5vHt2o

Sorry

p2p

Anonymous said...

No 5 meter rule? Blair made it up?

Blair must go.

p2p

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 14:13, not having seen the video but responding to your comments, I don't think the cops need a refresher course. They are doing exactly what they are trained to do; lie.

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