Police Brutality
- Thread starter Cliffy
- Start date
I think RCS hit on the head:
- there is a lot more comprehensive media coverage, not always professional grade, but cell cams etc that can capture events
- when there IS possible police brutality, it is big news and it makes headlines, thus pushing the issue into our faces
- with the increase in media coverage and public awareness there are also more who try to stage/provoke confrontations so they can claim police brutality
I can't speak for the US but in Canada, there is usually always some type of outside oversight or at least appeal process of police activity. Some will claim that this is ultimately biaed because it is gov't operated and so are the police but what else can we do? Police officers who are alleged to commit wrong-doings have the same rights as any other accused...
- there is a lot more comprehensive media coverage, not always professional grade, but cell cams etc that can capture events
- when there IS possible police brutality, it is big news and it makes headlines, thus pushing the issue into our faces
- with the increase in media coverage and public awareness there are also more who try to stage/provoke confrontations so they can claim police brutality
I can't speak for the US but in Canada, there is usually always some type of outside oversight or at least appeal process of police activity. Some will claim that this is ultimately biaed because it is gov't operated and so are the police but what else can we do? Police officers who are alleged to commit wrong-doings have the same rights as any other accused...
A lot has to do with the type of protest. In the situation Cliffy describes there is high potential for saboteurs, tree spike's and hardcore Earth Liberation Front freaks.
A couple days ago there was a fair size protest of 600+ in Regina. There was no violence, no guys in black, nothing smashed, no beatings and no arrests.
A couple days ago there was a fair size protest of 600+ in Regina. There was no violence, no guys in black, nothing smashed, no beatings and no arrests.
Glad you brought up "tree spiking" (I was going to mention it myself earlier but forgot) There has been a lot of that sh*t going on in past years during logging protests on Vancouver Island, and even one incident just removes any credibility from protestors and since a lot of protestors are MULTI situation protestors, I have very little use for any of them. The A$$holes that wanted to censure Cheney also wanted to deprive his audience of their rights. They are simply not rational thinking people. Their freedom should be limited to speech and assembly only! :-(
JLM - I support proper protests too when they don't involve the taking over of public infrastructure without parade permits or putting the innocents trying to make a living at risk of injury or destroying private property. BUT and this is the part where things go gray, without the violence or destruction the news coverage is non-existant. I can't find a news story on-line that covered the First Nations Day of Action just two days ago in Regina. If I didn't know participants I would have never known it happened.
It tooks some hunting but I actually found a link to the news story. First Nation marchers in Regina call for action on treaty promises
It tooks some hunting but I actually found a link to the news story. First Nation marchers in Regina call for action on treaty promises
Cliffy, that's BS. I saw many of these so called Black Bloq people and they were for the most part young, impressionable fools who were there to destroy property.
You've got to admit though that police could have removed their cop cars that made for excellent TV as they were torched. Allowing such things to happen is a form of manipulating public image of the protests.
I have no sympathy for the cops that weekend, they were incompetent in their duties for allowing this to happen in the first place. Then they went all Gestapo on the Sunday, arresting regular people just for being out on the street, everyone get sucked into their vacuum; photographers, journalists, regular people. Was a joke.
Suspending the Charter using an antiquated bylaw should be dealt with in the harshest of manners. The civil suits are going to cost more than the damages to public and private property. It was a black day for Canadian rights and freedoms.
Let me get this straight... you are saying that the protestors causing trouble at the G8 and G20 conferences are actually police officers?
In regards to the brutality issue, I was in downtown Toronto at the time of the G20 riots, I was about 30 ft away from the mounted unit who rode down and over the sit down protestors.. it was completely uncalled for, not to mention horrible, one of them had her face pretty much split by one of the hooves 
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You hit the nail on the head Cliffy, but it's not as simple as 'protecting corporate interests'. They are there protecting the people who are not protesting... the people who are simply going about business as the government has told them they can. Whether it's a meeting, a church, a business sector, they don't care. The people protesting are the source of threat, thus they are the ones the police will focus on. And sometimes that focus gets out of hand. It's the nature of the beast and something protestors need to understand.
I'd expect them to bust the window-breakers and hell-raisers on the scene and not go half a mile away to arrest the ones corralled in a legally designated protest area
Well, imo in a situation like that, things can be as volatile as a lit powderkeg.. fogive me for sounding paranoid, but if the people who were holding the Summit REALLY ddint want those protesters there, what better way then to throw in a few antagonizers to light the whole barrel.
Also, apparently and I use that loosely, the rioters who did the majority of the damage were "believed" to be mixed in with the peaceful protestors, so the Police seemed to have just said meh, arrest them all, we'll sort em out later.
Don't get me wrong, I cannot stand when police cross the line and abuse their power even for small things. For example at my town's July 4th Parade a man parked in a legal spot but was facing the wrong way. He was with his wife and two small children. A cop walked up to him and immediately started yelling. Immediately I'd like to stress.
"Get back in your car and get the hell out of here! You're facing the wrong way.... move it!"
He said "Hey you can't talk to me like that you're a public servant."
"Get the hell out of here now!"
His two little kids were squeezing their mom's hands in fear watching this a-hole with a badge scream at their dad. Give some guys a badge and a gun and they think they are above reproach.
And to protect property as well.
And those are the protests that really seem to attract the ones that are there to simply riot and raise hell.
"Get back in your car and get the hell out of here! You're facing the wrong way.... move it!"
He said "Hey you can't talk to me like that you're a public servant."
"Get the hell out of here now!"
His two little kids were squeezing their mom's hands in fear watching this a-hole with a badge scream at their dad. Give some guys a badge and a gun and they think they are above reproach.
And to protect property as well.
And those are the protests that really seem to attract the ones that are there to simply riot and raise hell.
Mhm, even though people like Alex Jones and such attempt to raise awareness, they also tend to make zealots.
Now this is something I really really disagree with even though I'm extremely against impaired drivers.
Read more: http://trib.com/news/local/state-an...cc6-51c5-9b97-689c20100913.html#ixzz1ZMXxyZIg
Wyoming program targets underage, irresponsible drinking
Read more: http://trib.com/news/local/state-an...cc6-51c5-9b97-689c20100913.html#ixzz1ZMXxyZIg
Wyoming program targets underage, irresponsible drinking
The cops were too worried about "holding the line" on the Saturday, hence all the carnage going on outside of the line.
Cliff, I guess if I watched what you did, I would feel like you. The police will improve the day the government stops meddling in their affairs. With having to fill quotas on who they hire as opposed to hiring the best, it becomes more and more difficult to supply quality personnel. With the RCMP, one of the worst things they did was to put a civilian in charge. If you haven't come up throught the ranks, you don't have a clue and he was clueless. You must have watched all the police officers on TV during the riot in Vancouver. They were obviously afraid. Everytime now that they make any move someone is putting it on some kind of camera. I see a bunch of people walking on glass afraid to make a move. They are so tensed up it's no wonder they explode. That said, it is their job not to explode and some of them don't handle that part well and some people are just power hungry and take their position much too seriously. They should not be in their position.
I no longer know what their "quotas" for hiring are. I still go back to them not being able to hire the best - they can just hire the best of the applicants for each quota and being the best of whatever part of that quota, doesn't necessarily make you a good candidate for a cop. Some just need to grow up and others need to move on to another job. It just seems to me that with all the extra pressure the public is putting on all police forces right now, we have far too many up-tight, can't do my job right people walking around. Some taking the easy route by not arresting the right people and others over re-acting. Neither kind is of any use to any force.
Forgot to say - Hi and it's nice to see you too. I am doing well thank you.
I read that too. As to why they would do that is anybody's guess. Plain stupid in my opinion.
Hi JLM,
Nice to see you. It has been a long time.