Tuesday 14 June 2011

How many crimes does it take?

How many crimes does it take to make the *criminal justice system* finally act in accordance with the law, and lay charges against one of its own?

Quite a few it seems - most outrageously committed in plain view, in open defiance of the laws that the system has, seemingly and reluctantly, finally enforced. From here:
Former Gatineau police officer Jeffrey Greetham, who was fired last February 9 after a disciplinary hearing, was formally charged Tuesday with sexual assault. [...] The crimes allegedly took place between 21 April and 1 May 2010 [...] In a terse statement, the Chief of Police of the City of Gatineau, Mario Harel, described the behaviour of the accused former police officer as "unacceptable". [...]

During the years he was employed by the force, Greetham's record of charges for actions contrary to his professions code of ethics continued to mount, and in 2002, he had to answer two charges of sexual assaults against a 15 year old girl.

After a very brief hearing, the charges were dismissed. The judge concluded: "Faced with no evidence in support of the complainant's weak version of the alleged sexual assaults, the court is unable to discredit the accused's version."
More about Jeffrey Greetham, here.

6 comments:

k'in said...

Depressing, no?

Sadly, not surprising.

If you want to get even more depressed, check out the aggregator site "Bad Cop, No Donut":

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/

jimmyr69 said...

What is going on with uniformed officers like Jefrey Greetam, Russell Williams, Pierre-Francois Blais, Are they hiding behind the authority of the uniform to commit their deeds?

Anonymous said...

The Pierre francois blais case: Gatineau police officer assaults 73 year old woman then kills her son by shooting him in the back according to witnesses.

A Gatineau cop violated a man's Charter rights when he shot and killed him in 2008, according to a litany of charges filed under Quebec's Police Act.
On June 29, 2011 -- one day past the three-year anniversary of David Leclair's death and just five days after the Leclair family launched a $430,000 civil suit against the officer and the city -- the province's police ethics commissioner slapped mall cop Pierre-Francois Blais with 10 charges.
Though he remains on active duty, he was unreachable for comment Wednesday.
"It'll never bring David back, it never should have happened to begin with," Leclair's sister, Donna told the Sun Wednesday. She is still pressing for a public inquiry into her brother's death.
A 35-year-old single father who was well-known to police, Leclair was shot three times outside his mother's Aylmer, Que. home after Blais responded to a domestic complaint involving Leclair's ex.
In February 2007, Leclair pleaded guilty and was handed an 11-month sentence for fraud.
Separate fraud and assault charges from 2006 were stayed, and he was also due to appear in court later in 2008 on theft and fraud charges.
On the day of Leclair's death, Blais had followed him into his mother's home, beat him with a club and pepper-sprayed him before shooting him three times outside, including once in the back. Blais said LeClair grabbed a crowbar in the confrontation but witnesses say he was unarmed.

The officer also struck Leclair's then 73-year-old mother, Dorothy, in the leg with his baton and, according to witnesses, threatened to shoot her and LeClair's brother Robert if they intervened.

"Personally, I would love him to have jail time, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen at this point," Donna said.
Blais, the son of chief justice of the Federal Court of Appeal Pierre Blais, was cleared in 2009 of any criminal wrongdoing after a provincial police investigation.
The latest charges, which stem from a formal complaint filed to the police ethics commissioner, allege Blais acted carelessly and recklessly in his dealings with Leclair, used obscene or offensive language, displayed a lack of respect or courtesy, abused his authority, and violated Leclair's Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person.
Blais is also charged with using excessive force against Leclair's mother, along with four other charges.
"Will this bring us closure? I don't know, but I hope it helps ... Something is better than nothing right now," Donna said. "We'll see how it plays out."
No hearing date has been set yet.
The charges against Pierre-Francois Blais:
1. Acted carelessly and recklessly in his dealings with Leclair
2. Using obscene or offensive language
3. Displaying a lack of respect or courtesy
4. Abusing his authority
5. Violated Leclair's Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person
6. Using obscene or offensive language in his dealings with Dorothy Leclair
7. Displaying a lack of respect or courtesy
8. Excessive force
9. Making threats
10. Failing to prevent or contribute to preventing justice from taking its course

Anonymous said...

Regarding the david leclair shooting in Gatineau, pictures at the scene show the cop pierre francois blais dressed in military combat pants, leclair probably concluded that the Blais was an intruder storming into his house, Leclair probably wanted to defend himself and his family from a crazed intruder. The cop is at fault, he was wearing an illegal and confusing uniform and the cop can not claim that he feared for his life because he shot Leclair in the back. How can you fear for your life if the guy is not facing you.The cop should be charged.

Anonymous said...

Gatineau cop Pierre-Francois Blais, involved in the 2008 shooting death of Aylmer man David Leclair, will face new Quebec police ethics commission charges of intimidation, discreditable conduct, excessive use of force and abuse of authority, writing a false report.

One allegation is he unnecessarily turned on the heater of his police car in the middle of August while he had a man in custody

deBeauxOs said...

more about Blais, here: ottawasun.com

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