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Sat, 10 Mar 2001
Fri, 02 Mar 2001
Reading all of these incidents on police brutality really makes me
angry.Why do we even have a Charter of Rights and Freedoms if we are
going to be victims of brutality every time a cop has a bad day or does
not like our attitude? It seems that we are going to continue to see and
here of these incidents since the Supreme Court ruled that police can
use any means necessary to make an arrset. I think the police are no
better than the individuals they are after. It is also my opinion that
we are heading towards a policed state, if we are not already there. I
think too many of the upper class citizens in our society are getting
worried that they may lose their wealth, and their influence on police
is the way to protect it. It is all about money folks! For those of you
who do not understand, I would suggest studying Sociology and reading
about the conflict perspective. It is a battle over scarce resources,
they have them and we want them.
Scott Snell
Sat, 24 Feb 2001
Dear Brutality Canada:
Reading much of the material available on your site, my interest has been piqued. Whenever I discover someone who is concerned with this type of human behaviour and willing to say something about it, I breath a little easier. The scale of the human condition needs such counter-measure to balance against base-conscience and blind-conformity. Commonly, people are too willing to sacrifice their personal freedoms and rights in order to maintain their lives without the endeavors of political contrast and controversy. People are prone to allowing the state to make most if not all their decisions for them, they forget that in a civilization we all endevour and engender a 'social contract'; therein accepting responsibility for each other. Brutality can not stand as a clause to this covenant.
william cassell
8 Feb 2001
Hello, my name is R. and I am a resident of Amherstburg. Tonight
(around 9:35pm) I was wrongfully detained by an Amherstburg policeman. I was
walking from the Tim Hortons back to my home. I noticed the cop parked in the
police station conveniently located across from the Tim Hortons. Upon spotting
me, he proceeded to cut me off with his car and began asking what I was doing (I was unaware people could not walk from Tim Hortons to home without getting
accusations thrown at them) He claimed that people were drinking at a hotel bar
(I thought that is what occurred at bars? Why does this have anything to do
with me?) He then proceeded to unneccessarily manhandle me as he was accusing
me. Obviously frustrated at my lack of inebriation and my coherent behavior (I
do NOT and will NEVER drink) he then claimed I needed to go on medication and
see a shrink because I was now becoming upset at this groundless attack. He
paged one of his police buddies who got in his car and drove to our location.
He then ordered me to get into the car and then drove me home. He then
instructed me to wake up my mother (who recently went through a nasty break up
with a Windsor cop) who was sleeping at the time because she gets up early to go to work. He then went on to the effect that he was detaining and accosting me for my own good and because he "worried" about me. (lies, lies) Again, I do not drink, I am a Sunday school teacher and churchgoer. I have never been arrested or in trouble with the law before this. I know this is not as violent as some of your other reports, my prayers go out to them. Thank you for your valuable time.
Sincerely
Wed, 1 Nov 2000
I am a Correctional Officer at Toronto's Don Jail. Good to see your site.
Some people might say that you will often have a few rotten apples in a
barrel. Well, I would say that the barrel is pretty rotten. As an officer
and extensive experience in dealing with Toronto Police, I SAY.....PLEASE
DON'T TRUST THEM!!
Gerry Bourgeois gerrybourgeois@sympatico.ca
Mon, October 30, 2000
Published by Alicia Barsallo, for the
BC LATIN AMERICAN CONGRESS -
Ph: (604) 879-3246, Fax: 872-6776, Email
Liz Thorlarson, witness:
"On May 24, 2000 at about 9:30 PM my partner, Yasushi,
and I were in our car at the red light at First Avenue and
Commercial," recalls Liz Thorlarson, born in Powell River and a
resident of Vancouver since 1989. "A young `squeegie' person
was cleaning our windshield when an unmarked police car with
two undercover police turned abruptly onto Commercial, briefly
sounding the siren. They flashed the red interior dash light and
stopped beside our car effectively blocking the other traffic behind
it.
"The driver of the police car called the young man over and told him to hand over his squeegie, which he did," continues Liz. "We called over to the policeman saying `It's OK,' as we had agreed and paid the young man to wash the windshield.
"The police ignored us, had a few words with the young man that we didn't hear and drove off with the squeegie."
Liz and her partner were left feeling helpless and angry. "I wanted to yell at the police because of their abuse of power," states Liz, "but felt vulnerable that they might also turn against Yasushi and myself."
Thorlarson, who is currently pursuing academic studies in political science and women's studies, believes this type of police behaviour constitutes harassment of peaceful citizens. "I feel no threat from `squeegie' workers," she says. "What I did feel threatened by was by the action of the two undercover police. It reveals that the police can harass and steal things from working people in full view of the general public."
GERALDINE HUTCHINGS, WITNESS:
On July 8, 2000 at 2:10 p.m. Geraldine Hutchings, retired,
born in Newfoundland and eight-year Downtown Eastside resident,
was walking Cambie Street between Cordova and Water when she
witnessed an incident of police violence. Two police and a
security guard were holding a long-haired, seemingly drunk man,
possibly Indo-Canadian, on his stomach with his hands cuffed
behind his back. "The man was completely cooperative and
docile," recounts Geraldine, "but the police were doing their best
to torment him anyway."
Hutchings heard the man tell one of two policemen, that never before in his life had he seen the security guard who said he had `seen him around.'" "Yeah, he's seen you around all right," the policeman said.
"Uncomfortable lying on the pavement in the hot sun, the man rolled over onto his back and tried to push himself up a little with his feet putting the weight on his shoulders so that he would not be lying on his hands," explains Geraldine; "but he was told to slide over closer to the side of the street. The victim asked if he could stand up. The cop refused. The security guard asked the policeman if it would be Ok for him to take a picture of the victim and was given the go ahead."
Approximately 15 minutes later, the policeman under whose direct control the prisoner had been, told the latter, "We're leaving now," with no further explanation.
The other policeman told the prisoner he was going to remove the handcuffs. The victim, who had managed to get himself to a sitting position with his legs crossed, asked if he could remain seated. The cop refused, and although the victim had leaned as far forward as he could to allow plenty of access to the handcuffs, the policeman stepped on the victim's foot and ankle while removing the handcuffs.
"When it comes to obliging the businesses of the area, the civil rights of a helpless individual living in this area can go out the window."
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER ACTION:
Forward this email to all your friends and invite them to become
members of our email list. Also, forward this email (with copy to
us) with your comments to:
BC's Attorney General Andrew Petter: Email or Fax: 1(250)387-6411],
demanding a fair police complaints process, dependent of
government and the police; and to
- your municipality [in Vancouver, Mayor
Phillip Owen: Email or
Fax: 873-7685], demanding that police wear their badges visibly at
all times, be held accountable for their actions, and that the
focus of the "war on crime" be the real criminals, not the
vulnerable or the poor.
Thu, 14 Sep 2000
My story of police brutality
Hi there. I just finished reading your website on police brutality. Great job!
Now, let me share my story with you. I want to be a police officer. I have for many years now (I'm a young guy still in college). You can call me ignorant or stupid or just plain dumb, but until one night a few months ago, I really didn't think the police in Toronto were the type to brutalize people. Everytime I heard a story of police brutality, I thought to myself that the victim must be lying. I think ignorant is the best word to describe me at that point.
So, a few months ago, I went on a ridealong with an officer in one of the Toronto police divisions. It was a Friday night. The evening went well until the early morning hours. There was a call of a man attempting to break into his ex-wife's house. We got to the scene and I waited on the sidewalk. The officers (three of them) found the guy standing between houses. They took him down to the ground and handcuffed him. Then he stood back up (fine so far). They began talking to him calmly. When he didn't answer, one officer slapped him in the face. Still no response...another slap. A second officer then grabbed him by the neck and pushed him up against the building. Remember, he's handcuffed. A few more slaps later and third officer grabbed him in the groin area and proceeded to punch him in the gut. I was told later that that victim had called that third officer a "paki" which angered him. Once he was in the back of the police car, I was told "you didn't see that." I was sickened. One of the officers later told me that they slap people rather than punch them because it's "more humiliating." Also, there was a detective working that night...I'll call him "Mike." One of the officers told me that the victim was going to go back to the station and he would end up saying the wrong thing and Mike would "kill him."
Anyway, I never asked for another ridealong with the Toronto Police. I was disgusted by what I saw. I still want to become a police officer. I'm not the type of person who loves all people or something, but I would never discriminate. By the way, the victim was a white guy.
Just wanted to share that with you. Good day.
John Macdonald
john1735@hotmail.com
August 18, 2000
This is a story of Environmental brutality by the Government and a major
corporation.
In NB,(New Brunswick) REPAP, a major pulp and paper company, is putting a second toxic dump on the opposite side of Eel Ground First Nation. The dump is located on traditional medicine grounds, which will be completely destroyed when the new toxic dump opens. Although this company has the worst environmental record in Canada, the NB government wants to give this American company another chance! This small community of 500 natives will disappear eventually from health problems that are already exacerbated by huge emissions of Sulphur Dioxide!
Greg Demmons
gregoms@hotmail.com
August 17, 2000
I can suggest Manitoba be added to the list. As a decriminalize drugs activist and member of the Marijuana Party of Canada I have an interest in this subject. Abe Hiebert was shot dead by police executing a search warrant. The incident is 3 years old now. Perhaps the Free Press Archives will bring up articles or you could contact the Winnipeg Sun for their articles.
At the end of the day 8 police officers arrived and shot a 56 year old for selling T and r's (talwin and ritilin). Unfortunatly I have my plate full keeping a eye on the drug issue. Who knew there would be such a need for this site. Keep up the good work. I will do my best to pass along any manitoba "brutality" news in the future. Good luck and thank you.
Chris Buors
August 11, 2000
(regarding the Police beating death of Otto Vass - see articles)
captain_vegetable@hushmail.com writes in a message entitled "man murdered by police on wednesday":
another tragic and disgusting story of police brutality. there doesn't seem
to be much of a gray area for
the cops to maneuver in this time, either.
people need to start realizing that "incidents" like these are not isolated
abberances.
what really disgusts me is the paragraphs near the end in the first article - it all seems completely irrelevant, and looks like nothing more than an overt and tasteless attempt to slander a murder victim, which always seems to happen whenever police kill someone.
August 9, 2000
It is my understanding that pepper spray was developed to provide a "non
violent" way of controlling disruptive forces.
It appears that they have missed their intentions. Are you suggesting to go back to tear gas?
What is it you are proposing the police use to control those who are intent on disruptive activity?
Or are the police to sit by and do nothing?
C.A., Lanark, Ontario
July 22, 2000
Looking at your new website the first thing I noticed was a glaring
spelling mistake: In Canada labourers have a 'U' in their title:
"LABOUR"--we're not assimilated southwards yet!
Comment in a(n even more) serious vein: I would recommend you add a section to this website on street smarts for activists, poor people, minorities, other high risk citizens: how to capture police IDs, record events, get witness identities and testimonies, report events to authorities, media and 'public ombudsmen' such as yourselves. Also the legal rights of citizens when assaulted / accosted by police in Ontario, Canada.
I attended the demonstrations in Washington and Windsor this year and certainly learned a lot from those experiences. It appears the neoliberals have not understood what is happening and are instead mounting ever more "defenses" against the upsurge of democratic activity. And since this will attract the participation of ever more inexperienced citizens [as well as frighten off others], people would fare far better if they understood what to expect.
I recently had a data accident and lost my bookmarks, or I'd help you with some links. I do suggest you add further resources, along the lines of the A16, Washington, Windsor and other demonstration preparedness sites. They described other people's experiences, what to wear, how to behave, what to carry, who to call and so on; even first aid advice for pepper spray, tear gas and such. Just link to them where the information is already assembled. Although I was not in Toronto when the poor were attacked by police recently, I understand why they fought back. The behaviour of police these days is so startlingly inappropriate that even a nun would give them a swipe, like a bad dog. It's the natural instinct, but it can also be very dangerous, as police are not prepared to intitiate conflict resolution approaches. They only know massive brute force and their masters seem to know nothing at all about people on the street. Therefore it is the responsibility of the people to be prepared to minimize the damage themselves. This website is an excellent contribution.
Keep up the good work,
David Creighton
Ottawa
Comments well taken. Since my bookmarks are intact, I will have little difficulty adding the suggested links to the links page which will soon be up. I am so pleased at the response to this site.
Fri, 21 Jul 2000
Great idea, For your info I sent an attachment (one english, one french) on
illegal sppying on postal workers for the labour section.
David Bleakney
National Union Representative
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
377 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1Y3
July 21, 2000
I don't have any specific comment, but I think this is an excellent idea. We
have to be ever vigilant to prevent the politicization of the police. This
appears to be happening with the recent arrest of the OCAP leaders. This is
really scary.
(In a second message, Jean writes:) I know I. M. of ____, quite well. The story of her son's troubles is yet another reason to keep a vigilant eye on the police. it makes you realize that even if no outright lies are intended, the results are the same. Misinterpretations of facts and the use of jailhouse informants are equally venal.
Jean Martin
Newmarket
Ontario
July 24, 2000
It is quite clear that while there may be some question overall about
how dangerous pepper spray is, but there is strong reason to believe
that it is harmful at least towards people with respiratory and heart
problems. Police are legally allowed to use some force, even
potentially deadly force, but they must first try to resort to the least
potentially harmful method of controlling a person (i.e., talking them
down) before gradually escalating their own use of force. If a cop is
being charged by an armed assailant, it is actually better to use pepper
spray to immobolize the assailant than to use a gun, so that risk may be
justifiable.
But it is quite clear that more and more cops are resorting to indiscriminately spraying crowds of people, including people peacefully exercising their freedoms of speech and assembly. Given the high percentage of people with respiratory problems such as asthma and allergies and given that heart disease is the second most common cause of death, there is an extremely high probability that at least one person in the crowd will be harmed by such spraying. This activity therefore clearly constitutes criminal negligence.
The cops are engaging in a behaviour that they know or ought to know (except for their willful blindness) could in all liklihood result in death. This is not only against rules of police conduct. This is a criminally indictable activity under the Canadian Criminal Code. It is analagous to shooting a gun indisriminately in a crowd. You might not actually hit somebody, but the potential for killing someone is still there. Cops are therefore violating the rules they are supposed to be upholding with the official sanction of their superiors.
I believe that there is good grounds for the laying of criminal charges against various police officers and for initiating legal measures against various police forces.
I certainly agree with you there!-Ed.
As for civil (vs. criminal) law, this situation is analagous to the Red Cross's tainted blood scandal in that they are still engaging in a practice which has now become known as potentially dangerous. Although it may have been acceptable (and therefore not negligent) at some point in the past, to continue with the practice now is clearly negligent under civil law.
For civil action to be taken, damages need to be quantifiable, so mere temporary discomfort is not likely enough. It must be shown to actually cause physical harm to each particular individual suing the police force. Also, the cops may still be able to argue in some cases that it isn't negligence when the only alternative is deadly force (e.g. use of a gun). Therefore a civil suit may be tough.
However, under criminal law, I believe they have the requisite
mens rea and actus reus for criminal negligence and I think a concerted
effort should be started to bring charges against the police. Even if
it goes nowhere (which is likely), it should at least generate a lot of
media coverage and embarrasment and hopefully create greater scrutiny
over policing methods.
Jonathan Schaper
July 19, 2000
Hello there:
Good show! This is indeed a good start. The Amnesty International people will be interested but you will have to contact Amenesty out of Canada - the Canadian ones do not have the responsibility for Canada, or so I have been told.
Yes, you may feel free to post my Spectrum articles on Vincent Gardner... Next year will be the tenth anniversary of the shooting.
You might have noticed that my focus on these shootings was on the shootings of UNARMED citizens, especially Black ones. I also included some others who were not Black, but the focus was on UNARMED. The idea was that the superior force used by the police was EXCESSIVE force and the shootings were unnecessary.
I do not know if this fits comfortably with the heading of Police Brutality. In the Toronto region, where one Chief of Police and I believe Art Lymer who was once head of the Police Union said that the police were afraid of Black people, it was clearly a matter of colour prejudice and, in many instances, racism.
The police have developed a pattern of responding to charges of "racism". Racism is very difficult to prove since it does not exist in the Criminal Code, and whenever they are able to conclude that there was "no racism" they have then discredited the substantive underlying charges of, for instance, murder, manslaughter, using excessive force, or using unnecessary lethal force, or shooting people in the back (a fleeing felon, which I believe has now been deemed wrong and unlawful).
As you will note, most of the shootings on my list took place in the 1980s and the early 1990s. The last few years have been reasonably free although a few deaths at the hands of police have been linked to inappropriate use of pepper spray (two or more applications).
I am not able to contemplate an editorial such as you indicate right now. But it is something I will keep in mind for a later date.
Meanwhile keep up the good work!
Ewart
This page updated March 5, 2001
