Black Lives Matter-Ugliness of Racism.

spaminator

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No criminal charges in Montreal police shooting of Black man

"In this case, the intervention was legal and was based mainly on the duty imposed on the police officers to ensure, from the first moments until the end of the shooting sequence, the safety of their colleagues as well as that of the citizens under their control. protection."
Author of the article:
Paul Cherry • Montreal Gazette
Publishing date:
Dec 14, 2021 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read •
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Erma Gibbs, mother of Nicholas Gibbs, listens as her daughter Tricia speaks at a vigil outside the Montreal Police Brotherhood office in Montreal Oct. 22, 2018, by families of people who have been killed by police.
Erma Gibbs, mother of Nicholas Gibbs, listens as her daughter Tricia speaks at a vigil outside the Montreal Police Brotherhood office in Montreal Oct. 22, 2018, by families of people who have been killed by police. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
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Quebec’s office of criminal prosecutions has determined no criminal charges will be filed against Montreal police officers in an intervention that ended in the fatal shooting of a Black man in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce three years ago.
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Nicholas Gibbs, 23, was shot three times on the night of Aug. 21, 2018 after police officers responded to a call reporting that two men were involved in a fight.
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According to a statement issued by the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) on Tuesday, Gibbs was carrying a knife and refused to drop it when ordered by police to do so. He also smashed the window of a police vehicle and tried to disarm one of the first two officers who arrived.

Gibbs’s mother, Erma Gibbs, has said in the past that her son was not carrying a knife before police shot him. She and other members of her family are suing the city of Montreal over the police shooting.

The DPCP said two prosecutors who examined the file met with Gibbs’s relatives “to inform them of the reasons for the decision.”
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Virginie Dufresne-Lemire, the lawyer representing the family in the lawsuit, said she will consult with her clients before proceeding further in the case. The attorney also said Erma Gibbs would have no comment on the DPCP’s findings while the lawsuit is still pending.

The DPCP’s explanation of why no charges will be filed describes how two police officers who were trying to find two men fighting in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce were caught off-guard by Gibbs.

“As their vehicle slowed down at an intersection, (Gibbs) smashed the passenger side window of the police vehicle with a punch. Unbeknownst to the police, the man held a knife in his hands and used the end of the handle of the knife to strike and shatter the passenger side window. The man entered through the broken window and tried to seize the service weapon of one of the police officers, while uttering death threats against them,” the DPCP wrote.
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The police officers exited the vehicle and watched as Gibbs moved toward them and backed up a few times. It was then that they realized he was holding a knife, the DPCP said. They called for backup and followed Gibbs “on foot while asking him to drop his knife.”

When he refused, one of the officers used an electric pulse weapon twice on Gibbs. He fell to the ground but got back up and said: “shoot me.”

He then approached the idling police vehicle and the officers feared he was about to drive away in it. One of the officers tried to use pepper-spray to stop him but the effort failed, likely because of the distance between the two.

By this time a third police officer had arrived at the scene. All three had their firearms drawn as they approached Gibbs while ordering him to drop his knife.
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He approached one of the officers who backed up until he ended up against a vehicle. It was then that one of the police officers fired five shots toward Gibbs and three of the bullets found their mark .

“Police officers are often placed in situations where they must quickly make difficult decisions. In this context, they cannot be required to measure the degree of applied force with precision at all times,” the DPCP wrote.

“In this case, the intervention was legal and was based mainly on the duty imposed on the police officers to ensure, from the first moments until the end of the shooting sequence, the safety of their colleagues as well as that of the citizens under their protection.”

The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) handed over a report on its investigation to a committee of three prosecutors on Oct. 29, 2019. The committee requested further investigation by the BEI and sought expert opinions before making their decision. The DPCP said the final report on the investigation was submitted to the prosecutors in August.

pcherry@postmedia.com

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spaminator

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Colorado school accused of segregation over ‘families of colour’ event
Author of the article:
Denette Wilford
Publishing date:
Dec 15, 2021 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read •
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Sign at Centennial Elementary that reads 'Families of Color Playground Night, Wed 12/8 4:10 p.m.'
Sign at Centennial Elementary that reads 'Families of Color Playground Night, Wed 12/8 4:10 p.m.' Photo by Christopher F. Rufo /Twitter
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An elementary school in Colorado caused quite the uproar by promoting what appears to be racially segregated playtime.
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Centennial: A School for Expeditionary Learning organized an equity event – for families of colour. No, it’s literally in the title.

The “Families of Color Playground Night” was intended to be a monthly event “at school, outside, as long as weather permits,” reported Fox News .

It was cancelled due to COVID protocols but there are plans to pick it up next year.
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Journalist and anti-critical race theory activist Christopher Rufo scoffed at its promotion of “equity” and called it “a form of state-sanctioned racial discrimination.”

He backed that up with a tweet by University of Denver law professor Dave Kopel, who pointed out the event is illegal under the state’s constitution.
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School officials said the event, which was organized by its Dean of Culture, Nicole Tembrock, was created in response to parents’ requests, according to Fox.

“Our school leaders met with some of the Black families whose children attend our school to determine ways for these families to feel more included in our school community,” Centennial said in a statement to the news network.

“Some of these families shared with us that, since the only time many of them see one another is at drop-off and pick-up times, we host some events where Black families can meet one another, connect with one another and share their experiences about the school with one another.”

It may appear that only students of colour and their families are welcome but the school clarified that “all families are welcome to attend all of our events, and families from a variety of backgrounds have done so.”
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taxslave

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The linguistic gymnastics the racists go through to try and claim their racist event is not racist because people of colour are discriminated against is truly amazing.
 
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spaminator

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MANDEL: End of appeal road for Toronto cop convicted in Dafonte Miller assault

Michael Theriault was off-duty when he beat Miller with a metal pipe, leaving him with a ruptured eye and other injuries.
Author of the article:
Michele Mandel
Michele Mandel
Publishing date:
Dec 16, 2021 • 10 hours ago • 3 minute read •
19 Comments
Michael Theriault arrives at the Durham Region Courthouse in Oshawa ahead of Dafonte MIller's testimony, on November 6, 2019.
Michael Theriault arrives at the Durham Region Courthouse in Oshawa ahead of Dafonte MIller's testimony, on November 6, 2019. Photo by Cole Burston /THE CANADIAN PRESS/
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Five years after he chased down Dafonte Miller and beat the young Black man with a pipe, costing him the sight in one eye, Toronto cop Michael Theriault has come to the end of his legal efforts to avoid responsibility.
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The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear an appeal of Theriault’s conviction for assault. As usual, no reasons were given.

So that’s almost the end of the road — suspended without pay since his sentencing last fall, Theriault, 29, next faces a police disciplinary tribunal where he’s pleaded not guilty to professional misconduct under the Police Act.

And where he can almost certainly say goodbye to his policing career.

“This criminal process has been a long and difficult road for our family, and we are glad that it is behind us, and we can try to move forward and heal,” the Miller family said in a news release. “This criminal process was a first step of accountability. Our civil claim is proceeding, and we plan to fully participate in the Police Services Act hearing proceeding against the Durham police officers who ‘investigated’ the assault.”
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The whole shameful incident stunk of anti-Black racism and with the Supreme Court declining to weigh in, that finding by both the lower court and the Ontario Court of Appeal stands uncontested.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca agreed the vicious attack began in the early morning of Dec. 28, 2016 when Theriault and his civilian brother Christian caught a teen breaking into their parents’ truck on their Whitby driveway — an allegation Miller continues to deny.

The brothers claimed they were assaulted and feared for their lives when they tried to apprehend him.

While skeptical, Di Luca was left with a reasonable doubt that Miller had initially wielded the metal pipe and Theriault was just defending himself when he got the pole away and struck the young man in the face, rupturing his eyeball. The judge acquitted him of aggravated assault.
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But Di Luca did find the off-duty cop guilty of assault for continuing to hit Miller even after the badly injured man had retreated and was desperately seeking help at a neighbour’s door.

“An acutely vulnerable young Black man was hit in the face with a metal pole while he was seriously injured, while he posed no threat and was actively seeking help,” Di Luca said.

The judge sentenced Theriault to nine months in jail — which was considered a relatively severe sentence considering officers are rarely sent to prison.
Dafonte Miller leaves the Oshawa courthouse on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. CRAIG ROBERTSON/TORONTO SUN FILES
Dafonte Miller leaves the Oshawa courthouse on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. CRAIG ROBERTSON/TORONTO SUN FILES

Theriault tried to delay his incarceration for as long as possible – first, he was granted bail while he appealed to Ontario’s highest court. When he lost there in July, he applied for bail pending his application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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This time, bail was denied and he’s been in custody ever since.

His lawyer Michael Lacy said their appeal to the Supreme Court was “meritorious” but with its decision not to hear it, “there are no further avenues available to seek to review the trial judge’s decision.”

Despite Theriault arguing otherwise, both Di Luca and the Ontario Court of Appeal found it important for them to consider the context of systemic racism in the incident.

Initially, it was the badly injured Miller who was under arrest — and Theriault was even allowed by Durham officers to handcuff him. His charges weren’t stayed until months later.
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Toronto Police Const. Michael Theriault (left) and his brother Christian Theriault.
MANDEL: Toronto cop who beat Dafonte Miller in court for sentencing Friday
Dafonte Miller speaks at a press conference after the verdict was handed down to the Theriault brothers in Durham region on Friday June 26, 2020.
Dafonte Miller tells Toronto cop's sentencing assault changed his life forever
Dafonte Miller speaks at a press conference after the verdict was handed down to the Theriault brothers in Durham region on Friday June 26, 2020.
WARMINGTON: Dafonte Miller won't accept interim chief's 'sincerest apologies'

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“The social context of anti-Black racism was relevant in the case at hand,” noted Justice Michael Tulloch on behalf of the appeal panel. “The trial judge was right to point out that the matter may have unfolded differently had the first responders arrived at a call late one winter evening and observed a Black man dressed in socks with no shoes, claiming to be a police officer, asking for handcuffs while kneeling on top of a significantly injured white man,”

No doubt.

Theriault could be free any day. He would have been eligible to apply for parole after serving just three months of his sentence.

mmandel@postmedia.com
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Mar 18, 2013
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Support the police. Heroes in blue. Tough, dangerous job. Keeping us safe. Blue Lives Matter.

If one of our heroes needs to beat a citizen with a metal pipe for a little stress relief, well, that's just the price some of us pay for all that service and protection.
 

Dixie Cup

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The vast majority (99%) of police are super! It's "thugs" like Theriault that we need to get rid of. Is perhaps "vetting" an issue? How do these guys get into the police force to begin with? This guy deserves whatever he gets!

People understand that there are bad apples in EVERY organization & they need to be gone! But to categorically accuse ALL POLICE of being bad or evil or whatever is simply wrong.
 
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taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
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Support the police. Heroes in blue. Tough, dangerous job. Keeping us safe. Blue Lives Matter.

If one of our heroes needs to beat a citizen with a metal pipe for a little stress relief, well, that's just the price some of us pay for all that service and protection.
That depends on whether it is a taxpaying citizen or a criminal.
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
36,362
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Vancouver Island
I genuinely hope you never get "filled in" by cops who can't read a damn address plate.
They know which is mine and which is my neighbour's, which they visit on a regular basis. Things are much different here than in cities. For instance our local cop shop is two towns down the road. We also have a real problem with revolving door just us, where many petty criminals commit multiple crimes while waiting court time for the first one. There was also a good system the cops used to use for drunk and disorderly types during public events. They got a ride about 10 miles up a logging road, forfeited their shoes and were set free.
 

spaminator

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1875 almanac, other books found in capsule from Robert E. Lee statue pedestal

Author of the article:
Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:
Dec 22, 2021 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read •
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Chelsea Blake, a conservator with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, attempts to open what is believed to be a time capsule found in Confederate General Robert E. Lee's monument, which was buried in 1887, in Richmond, Virginia, December 22, 2021.
Chelsea Blake, a conservator with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, attempts to open what is believed to be a time capsule found in Confederate General Robert E. Lee's monument, which was buried in 1887, in Richmond, Virginia, December 22, 2021. Photo by Jay Paul /REUTERS
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An 1875 almanac and other documents were discovered on Wednesday inside a time capsule that was encased in the pedestal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that formerly stood in Richmond, Virginia’s capital.
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Conservators in a laboratory at the state’s Department of Historic Resources opened the lead box after hours of meticulous scraping and drilling to reveal the almanac, two other unidentified books and a cloth envelope with unknown contents. A coin was stuck to one of the books.

Historians had thought the box might be a time capsule containing about 60 objects that was placed in the statue pedestal on Oct. 27, 1887, according to a news release from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s office. But Wednesday’s discovery seemed to indicate it was a different capsule.

The memorial to Lee was erected on Monument Avenue in Richmond, the capital of the pro-slavery Confederacy, a group of breakaway Southern states that fought against Union forces in the 1861-65 Civil War.
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The six-story-tall statue was removed from its base in September after a year-long legal battle.

The monument, which activists say glorified the South’s racist past, had been the focus of protests against racial injustice. Advocates of keeping Confederate monuments and symbols say they honor the Southern heritage and the sacrifices made by those who fought during the war.

Northam, a Democrat, announced plans to remove the statue in June 2020, 10 days after a white Minneapolis policeman killed George Floyd, who was Black, sparking nationwide protests.

Crews discovered the time capsule on Friday while disassembling the pedestal that formerly held the statue.

The lead box was found about 20 feet (6 m) above the ground, encased in a 1,500-pound (680-kg) block of granite, according to the Department of Historic Resources.
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spaminator

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Four in 10 Black Canadians experience racial discrimination every week: Study

Those who experienced high levels of racial discrimination were also more likely to report lower levels of life satisfaction and self-esteem.
Author of the article:
Andrew Duffy
Publishing date:
Dec 23, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 3 minute read
A University of Ottawa study, led by psychology professor Jude Mary Cénat, is among the first to explore the specific experiences of Black Canadians.
A University of Ottawa study, led by psychology professor Jude Mary Cénat, is among the first to explore the specific experiences of Black Canadians. Photo by Handout /University of Ottawa
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Four out of 10 Black Canadians experience casual racism at least once a week, according to a landmark University of Ottawa study on racial discrimination in this country.
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The study, recently published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, surveyed 845 Black Canadians between the ages of 15 and 40.
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All of the participants volunteered for the study, which canvassed them on their experiences with different forms of racial discrimination: microaggressions, casual “everyday” discrimination and major episodes of racism.

Four out of 10 participants said they experienced casual discrimination at least once a week: being treated with less courtesy or respect than others (46 per cent); being treated as if they’re unintelligent (43 per cent); being threatened or harassed (41 per cent); receiving poorer service than others at stores or restaurants (38 per cent).

More than half of the 845 participants said they had experienced major episodes of racial discrimination at least once in their lives related to job hiring (61.5 per cent), education (60.5 per cent), policing (55.5 per cent) and health services (53.1 per cent).
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Many also reported being treated unfairly during discussions about housing (47.5 per cent) and bank loans (46.3 per cent).

Most Black Canadians also reported experiencing a wide range of microaggressions, everything from being followed in stores to being told they’re “not like other people” in their racial or ethnic group.

“These initial observations indicate that racial discrimination, whether it is daily, major or comprised of microaggressions, is not an isolated occurrence for people from Black communities in Canada. On the contrary, it forms part of their daily lives,” the study concludes.

In the United States, dozens of studies have examined the prevalence of racial discrimination toward Black people, but the uOttawa study, led by psychology professor Jude Mary Cénat, is among the first to explore the specific experiences of Black Canadians.
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Black people make up about 3.5 per cent of the Canadian population.

Cénat felt it was important to quantify their experience, he said in an interview Tuesday, after hearing so many talk about the mental health burden associated with discrimination, and about its impact on people’s school and work lives.

“In my clinic, I have never taken on a Black man, a Black woman, a Black youth who told me, ‘I have never experienced racial discrimination,’” Cénat said. “It is part of our daily life.”

The study, he said, demonstrates that racial discrimination is not only an American problem, “but also very much present in Canada.”

Women were more likely to report racist encounters than men, the study found, and Black Muslims were more likely to report racist discrimination than Black Christians.
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Those who experienced high levels of racial discrimination were also more likely to report lower levels of life satisfaction and self-esteem.

Cénat said the findings highlight the need for more research, including work that further explores the association between racial discrimination and mental health.

Cénat’s previous work has established a strong link between racial discrimination and depression among people in Black communities. His study found that people who experienced high levels of racial discrimination were 36 times more at risk of experiencing severe depressive symptoms than those who experienced low levels of discrimination.

Cénat contends his latest study underlines the need to eliminate Canada’s “colour blind” policies in health, education and social services. Policies built on the goal of racial equality, he said, fail to address “the historical and social causes of education, economic, health and other disparities and inequities among Black communities.”

“I want schools, for instance, to take into account the pathway of each student,” Cénat said. “You cannot just say, ‘I don’t see skin colour.’ You have to take into account that experience related to my skin colour.”
 

Ron in Regina

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Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
They know which is mine and which is my neighbour's, which they visit on a regular basis. Things are much different here than in cities. For instance our local cop shop is two towns down the road. We also have a real problem with revolving door just us, where many petty criminals commit multiple crimes while waiting court time for the first one. There was also a good system the cops used to use for drunk and disorderly types during public events. They got a ride about 10 miles up a logging road, forfeited their shoes and were set free.
Ah yes, the Starlight Tours. Sucks in the winter & many have died and their circumstances buried out here on the Prairies. One of my cousins had a close call with a Starlight Tour in the winter outside of Winnipeg (The police took his coat but not his shoes), but luckily an elderly couple pick him up off the side of the highway fairly quickly.

Several years ago there was a drug house across the street from my place. Due to limitation on what the police can and cannot do, we contacted SCAN (safer communities and neighbourhoods) Who have different authorities and powers than the police force does, and different resources.

After a few weeks of observation, Some of us in the neighbouring houses were given a heads up to stay off the street because the raid was about to happen….. as they had a warrant to conduct the search of the drug house…. And as they were warning me over the phone…. It was me myself that caught the fact that they had my address and the drug house address reversed. Whoopsie. Close call.

I was that one phone call away from having my door kicked in and my dogs shot, and Lord only knows what else…. just because they reversed two addresses on the same street. At the time we had a Rottweiler & my Wolfish-Husky & neither would have lived through that clerical error.
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(Here they where just playing, as the Rotti hadn’t even bothered to get up. Believe it or not, it would have sounded even worse that it looked….& that’s without law enforcement kicking in my door.)
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Once my dogs where shot (& between the two of them they were almost 300 pounds of animals, so they would’ve been shot), I also probably wouldn’t have lived through that clerical error. It was one of those, “Wait. What? Can you please repeat those two addresses Sir?” moments that could have gone in a completely different direction if I was just a little less on the ball in that conversation.
 
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