The following letters to the editor appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Thursday, August 3, 2000. They are written in response to a young man's complaints of police brutality in an article on July 29. The letters more or less convey what happened. What is alarming is not only the writers' vindictiveness in applauding the police for beating the youth but also their impassioned endorsement of police acting as judge, jury and executioner. Their fears and apprehensions may be understandable but it is just such emotions that make people vulnerable to accepting fascism.

(Caption under photo of unhappy young man with a shiner):"Readers are quite unsympathetic to the complaints of James Davidson, 19, who says he was brutally beaten by Ottawa-Carleton police officers after a chase on the Queensway. They say Mr. Davidson should take responsibility for his own actions."

James Davidson, a 19-year-old man, alleges that police brutally beat him. That, of course, was the headline, not the story that covered two pages. In actual fact, Mr. Davidson was out with some friends "joyriding" in a van, which later led to a police chase.

I read the article twice and I am almost certain that this "joyride" was in actual fact in a stolen vehicle.

Then these people headed up to Constance Bay and loaded up the van with beer and liquor - surely just to hang out and party (What is not clear in the article is whether or not they "bor- rowed" the beer and liquor.)

So, after this little ride, they decided to head home, at which time they were spotted by a police officer who ran the plates and called for backup. Once police turned on their lights and sirens, the driver decided not to stop.

He decided to try to outrun the police, thus endangering his passengers, police and any innocent drivers on the Queensway. Thank goodness it was early in the morning and traffic was no doubt light.

The ever-intelligent driver of this vehicle (his licensing status unclear)kept this chase up from Kanata to the Parkdale exit, not a short ride, and then stopped in the middle of the highway.

This is where the sad story begins for Mr. Davidson.

According to him (and why should we doubt him?), an over-zealous officer kicked him repeatedly while he was being detained by a second of- ficer. Mr. Davidson feels that he was wrongly attacked. He says that "I deserve to do my time, community service, pro- bation, whatever, but I didn't deserve to get beaten black and blue."

Isn't it wonderful that Mr. Davidson, who seems to know the difference between right and wrong, except when it comes to his own actions, knows exactly what punish- ment he deserves?

I wasn't there that night,so I can't say for sure that Mr. Davidson was roughed up by police. I would have to say, though that Mr. Davidson got what he deserved and de- serves much more than com- munity service. He needs a good kick in the rear and a little time in jail.

Gerry Mulcahey, Navan

Cause and Effect

I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to James Davidson, the "victim" of police "brutality" ("Teen alleges police brutality", July 29).

I feel sorry for him for not knowing that participating in activities that violate another person's rights and property might bring forth some degree of punishment. The police obviously had no reason whatsoever to use force. Their display of force (its extent is a non-issue) was completely unprovoked by avan full of teens and apparent crimes.

As usual, this victim, realizing his folly, attempts to a find a way out by focusing the blame on someone else, and even convincing his mother to forget why the issue exists in the first place.

The police, following procedure, offer no immediate comment and thereby allow Mr. Davidson to paint himself as a moral and upstanding member of society, with no contradiction.

Mr Davidson, your gallant plea to your friend to pull the vehicle over was too little, too late. Had there been no police present, would you have made the same plea?

If there was in fact a beating hopefully it knocked something straight in Mr. David- son's head.

Jonathan Reynaert, Orléans

No regret

This story is more interest- ing for what it does not contain than what it does. The teen "victim" admits that he did something stupid and proceeds to describe what he considers reasonable punishment - community service or probation.

At no point does he express any regret. We only have his side of the story of course, but even that shows his casual disregard for the rights of others. We can only hope that whatever happens next, considering that he admits his guilt, will serve to impress on him the seriousness of his actions.

Dennis Teskey, Orléans

Thoughtless acts

Aww, poor, little, 19 year-old James Davidson and his friends. A van is stolen,they spent the night drinking and joyriding in it and then got caught and were treated like criminals by the mean, old Ottawa-Carleton police.

Let's look at this situation from another point of view. My quiet, rural neighbour- hood has been victimized by numerous break-ins and thefts in recent weeks. In two cases, the thieves killed or injured three of the victims' pet dogs with vicious kicks.

Having spoken to some of these victims, I can assure you that if they had the opportunity, they would not hesitate to beat the living daylights out of criminals who have traumatized their families and taken away their peace of mind.

From what I understand, the suspected thieves in all of these cases are youths using stolen vehicles. Had the police not pulled over James Davidson and his drunken accomplices, the likelihood is very high that they would have caused an accident, destroying property and probably taking the lives of innocent bystanders in the process, ruining forever the lives of the surviving family members.

The thoughtless, criminal actions of this type are not "innocent fun" as he seems to believe.

For every one of their crimes, there are victims and longlasting consequences... consequences which in almost all cases, are longer lasting than the bruises which James Davidson incurred.

Although I don't give any credence to James Davidson's claim of alleged police brutality (I suspect that he bumped his head when his pal crashed the van into the police cruiser),you may be assured that if in fact the incident did take place, I and my neighbours would have probably thrown in a few kicks of our own if we had had the good fortune to be present at the arrest.

However, given Mr. Davidson's obvious incapacity for reasonable judgment, I am not at all surprised that he expects a kiss and a hug from the police after being apprehended. At 19 years old, he is no longer entitled to claim the foolish innocence of youth.

Robert Tom, Kanata

Thanks to police

James Davidson's complaints inspired anger in me, but not against the police.

The caption under the picture explains how the boy's mother gets all teary-eyed at the thought of her son possibly being handled in an aggressive fashion by the police. Not a mention, however, of her upset at the thought of her son perhaps being a criminal.

Inasmuch as I don't believe his charges against the police, the thought of his getting his comeuppance is somewhat gratifying. As a taxpayer, I am annoyed that my taxes will go to the repair or replacement of a police vehicle.

However, I am especially thankful that we have such an alert and professional police force, in the light of all the cuts they have experienced, tbat they were able to catch these delinquents in action.

Maybe their mothers should be thinking about that.

Francine Dewar, Gloucester

Responsibility

I feel sorry for Mr. Davidson. I feel sorry that his mother decided to file a formal complaint alleging police brutality and that the family chose to call the newspapers. Imagine a mother sticking up for a child in this manner. If my kid comes home with bruises on him from the Police because he was being chased in a van at 2am with open beer and liquor bottles, he'd better be ready for a few more bruises.

Not that I'm condoning police beating innocent citizens, or even parents using violence against children but I can't imagine my own parents siding with anyone but the police if an incident like this happened when I was growing up.

It's about time Mr Davidson, and his mother started taking responsibility for their own actions instead of blaming the rest of the planet.

Doug Blair, Carp

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