Worse and Worse...

Dziekanski still alive by the time medical help arrived: RCMP
Last Updated: Saturday, December 1, 2007 | 2:38 PM ET
CBC News

The RCMP and the Richmond B.C. fire department appear to be offering conflicting accounts as to whether Robert Dziekanski was already dead by the time medical help arrived.

Given everything that has happened so far, I'm going to believe the fire department on this one. The officers shown in the video sure didn't seem particularly interested in assessing their victim's condition. The only thing that could make this worse would be to discover that the RCMP had somehow impeded attempts to treat Mr. Dziekanski.

Immediately, a crew initiated a medical assessment and asked police to remove Dziekanski's handcuffs, but the officers refused.

Oh.

Goodbye, Public Sympathy for the RCMP!

Alison at Creekside has taken the big stick to the RCMP over the death-by-taser of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport (BBC story here).

What a horrendous, awful, event that was, and a systemic failure every step of the way. That nobody at the airport could figure out how to get Mr. Dziekanski and his mother together for six hours. That the victim was left alone and lost for a further four. That there was no attempt to find anybody who could speak Polish. That tasers were used despite the fact that the victim was offering no resistance. That, having been tasered a number of times, Mr. Dziekanski was then jumped upon by about four officers. That the RCMP have followed this up by apparently lying their asses off about the incident.

There's really nothing left to say, is there...

Aw, Crap, here we go again...

Weekend Italian matches called off

This weekend's football matches in Serie B and Serie C have been postponed in the wake of Sunday's violence in the Italian league.


The country's football federation (FIGC) announced the decision this evening following a series of meetings during the day.


And Giancarlo Abete, president of the country's football federation (FIGC), has not ruled out the possibility of the postponements continuing after the international break.

'We don't intend to restart all tournaments from Sunday 25,' he said.

A bizarre one, this. An apparently innocent fan caught up in a fight and accidentally shot by the police, thus provoking major rioting in Rome and elsewhere.

Unlike last time, I don't think you can lay this one at the feet of the Ultra'. Rather, it has more to do with the fraught relationship between Italian society at large and the police. Part of the problem goes back to mid/late-1970s (I believe). At that time, in response to a number of murders of policemen by outfits like the Brigate Rosse and various organized crime crews, the Italian parliament broadened, greatly, the definition of when the police were legally allowed to use lethal force. The result was twofold: First of all, the Italian police killed about 600 people throught the decade of the 1980s (once again, I believe). Secondly, it provoked deep distrust for the police among Italians in general, especially those who could remember fascism. Things are better now, but events like Saturday's do cause some of the old bitterness to come to the fore again.

Anyway, it looks like, once again, calcio is going to take a little time off, and hopefully allow cooler heads to prevail.

Home Again

Well, I am back (logging on to gloat about Conrad Black doesn't count, pleasurable though it is). And, as usual, I take a certain amount of comfort in seeing that some things around the old homestead never change. Ted Byfield, for example.

Mounties made big miss-take
You cannot have a police force without a code of rules -- most of them unwritten
By TED BYFIELD

Now, I confess, when I saw that headline, my first thought was "I don't know what the deal is with 'miss-take', but there is no way that Ted has written a column the RCMP's recent difficulties on the existence of female police officers in its ranks. Not even Ted is that divorced from reality. Link, maybe, but not Ted." Ooh, how wrong I was, as we're about to see:

I was talking last week to a veteran Mountie, retired from the RCMP now for more than 30 years, after a career that was at least that long and took him to the rank, I believe, of inspector, though I'm not sure about that.

Ok, beginning a column with an admission that you don't know who you were talking to. That's some interesting rhetorical technique, there.

"What," I asked "has gone wrong? Why is it that an institution, which for well over a century managed to operate with scarcely a blemish on its record, now encounters problems at every turn.

Discipline problems, training problems, money control problems -- so much so that a civilian has been called in to take them over."

"Scarcely a blemish", hmmmm? Well, I suppose, if you don't count the strike-breaking. Or the other strike-breaking. Or the Regina Riot. Or the getting infiltrated by Soviet spies. Or the barn-burning. Or rather a lot of other things.


Warning: The history of your police force may differ somewhat from the illustration.

"Too long," he said. "I've been far too long away from them to make any worthwhile observations."

I knew he would say this and it may be largely true. But perhaps not entirely.

"Well did you see any changes even in your day that could have led to the problems we have today?"

He was slow to answer me, but I knew he wanted to say something, but was hesitant to do so.

Don't be a tease, Ted.

"Come on, out with it," I said.

That's better.

"Don't misunderstand me," he said at last, "but I think it started with the women. I think when we took women into the force, that began a major change. And that change has led to what we have today.

"You don't mean to say," I said, "that women caused all the problems that the Mounties are now confronted with.?"

"No, no, not at all," he said. "Women make very good officers, much better in some ways than men."

"Then how did they start the problem?

What you've really got to love here is how Ted "gutless little puke" Byfield is setting up this anonymous and potentially imaginary RCMP veteran to take the fall for him. I also enjoyed a good chuckle at Ted's faked astonishment and horror over the officer's pronouncement; this from a man who's made a career out of misogyny. Anyway, onwards...

He then explained that up until women began to appear in the Mountie uniform, the RCMP was very much like a military unit. It had a kind of regimental discipline. A code.

Some of it was spelled out. Some of it was just assumed.

You just knew what you were supposed to do, and if you didn't do it you were out. And there were some things you were not supposed to do, and if you did them you were out even faster.

Union-busting and spying on people who disagreed with the government, for example, were very much in the "to-do" pile.

There were written rules, of course. But these were mostly unwritten rules, and they governed conduct from the lowest ranks to the very top.

It was at the top, he said, where the rules were less specific, but they were there none the less. And it is at the top where the greatest dangers to the force always lie.

I thought the greatest danger to the force was women, Ted. Try to stay focused, here.

It had to do with the relations between the police and the government, a very delicate area. The force was responsible to the government. Canada is a democracy and it had to be. An absolutely independent police force would be an impediment to democracy, and all over the world all through history, police forces and military forces have become so independent they have taken over governments.

But on the other side, they had to be ready to enforce the law, when the government itself, or people in the government broke it.

So there was a fine line which the commissioners of his day, he said, well understood and toed it.

Then what happened?

Anyway, when the women came, everything changed.

Read that line out loud to yourself, and see if you don't fall over laughing. It sounds like the tagline from a 1950s-era B-movie.

A police force of men, and a police force of men and women, are not the same thing.

Well, I gotta admit, that statement is 100% true. * Bangs head on desk *

What you can say, what you can do, how you behave and where, all this must change.

Yup, no more farting in the squad room for you, Mr. 1970s-vintage RCMP Officer!

And these changes quickly meant that the rules must change too.

But change to what, exactly?

"Even in my day," he said, "no one was altogether sure. The effect of the women was to destabilize the rules, and already a kind of basic uncertainty began to become evident among us all."

Then they were pretty fucking stupid rules, weren't they.

He was not saying, he stressed, that there should be no women in the Mounties.

Oh, fuck off. First of all, let's drop the charade about your mysterious informant shall we Ted? This is you, Ted Byfield, putting forth your, Ted Byfield's, opinion. Secondly, quit trying to cover your ass; everybody, including your idiot fellow-travellers, understands that what you are trying to say is precisely that women should not be RCMP officers, because apparently the arrival of women on the force caused the RCMP to mismanage its pension fund 30 years later. Which is ridiculous, a fact that ought to surprise nobody.

But you cannot have a police force without a code of rules, most of them unwritten, and you cannot invent a new code overnight.

It must be the product of experience. It takes years and years to develop a new code. And during this transitional period, all sorts of things will go wrong.

And that, he figures, is what's gone wrong in the Mounties.

And a great many other things in society, you come to think about it.

We need a new set of rules and we don't have them.

Oh, fuck off again. We do have a new set of rules, including the one that says that women can be police officers. You just don't like them.

Anyway, for a much better and funnier look at this particular masterpiece of Ted's, go here.

On Apologies, Weaseling Out Of

RCMP apologizes for holding suspect naked
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 3, 2007 | 8:45 AM NT
CBC News

Police in Labrador have apologized to a woman who was held naked in a lockup for two days last winter, and have disciplined an officer for mistreating her.

No, they haven't apologized. Behold the full glorious text of this supposed apology:

"I'm sorry she felt that she was mistreated in any way or put through any undue hardship, but certainly there was no intent," [RCMP Insp. Greg] Bursey said.

"I'm satisfied that within reason that it shouldn't happen again."

First of all, there's the issue of "I'm sorry she felt that she was mistreated." Um, yes, if one was held naked in a jail cell, without even a blanket for the first 16 hours, after a doctor had recommended that one be admitted to hospital, one would tend feel a little bit put upon. Note that the officer did not, in fact, apologize for holding her for two days in jail without clothes.

Secondly, let us turn our attention to "certainly there was no intent." What, this was a fucking accident?

Lastly, we have "within reason... it shouldn't happen again." Soooooooo, um, sticking Inuit women in jail cells for extended periods without clothing is now only going to happen a reasonable amount of the time? What the fuck?

End Rant.

Progress!!

Some time ago, the Oi! Thump! Meditation Squad meditated on the bit of apparent police brutality that occurred during this past spring's infamous Oiler "riots." The OTMS duly noted that Chief Boyd had an opportunity to step up and perhaps improve relations between the local cops and Edmontonians. Apparently, he has done so! Witness this happy bit of news:

Chief orders hearing into Whyte arrest
Says review of possible misconduct ‘in the public interest’
edmontonjournal.com
Published: Monday, November 20, 2006

Edmonton police Chief Mike Boyd has ordered a hearing under the Police Act into the arrest of a woman who claims she was manhandled by police on Whyte Avenue after a playoff game in June.

"Claims she was manhandled", my ass. She was manhandled, and there's photographic proof of that. Anyway, the purpose of this is not to bash on people, but rather to say "well done" to the Chief, who is showing every sign so far of having been a good hire. He has, in this case, correctly identified "the public interest," and we all hope he keeps it up.

Opportunity Knocks

Cop who smacked hockey fan was doing his job: Crown
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 1, 2006 | 3:13 PM MT
The Canadian Press

A police officer captured in photos smacking a handcuffed woman in the head at a street celebration after an Edmonton Oilers playoff game last spring should not be charged with assault, a prosecutor recommended Wednesday.

Calgary chief Crown prosecutor Gordon Wong said the Edmonton officer had little choice but to administer what is known as a "head stun" on Kristin Wilson during crowd control on Whyte Avenue on June 17.

Now, Paula Simons has already done sterling work commenting on this incident, and I have very little to add to what she's said about the implausibility of the "preventing a riot" explanation, etc. etc. However, she does make one comment that I'd like to elaborate on:

Wong's legal opinion isn't the last word on this sad affair. It's merely advice. Chief Boyd still has it within his power to lay criminal charges or launch internal discipline proceedings.

There it is really. So far, Mike Boyd has done a fairly decent job as Chief of Police here, certainly far better than what his immediate predecessors accomplished. The Kristin Wilson incident, however, represents his first, real chance to show that things are changing in the EPS. He cannot, for the sake of public confidence in his police force, simply hide behind the prosecutor's statement and do nothing about the incident itself. If he does that, it will be a clear sign that in fact nothing has changed, and that the thuggery and lack of accountability for which the force has gained an reputation are still un-dealt-with. If, however, he steps up and apologizes to Kristin Wilson, or does something to get her civil lawsuit satisfactorily and quickly resolved, or at the very least admits that the incident was handled unbelievably poorly, he will have begun to show Edmontonians that the EPS may be returning to the very high standard of policing we enjoyed in the early 1990s. The chief's next move is awaited with interest and trepidation.

P.S. A full description of what went on that night, including one of the now-infamous pictures, can be found here.

Suffering the Little Children

Let judges deal with kids as young as 10: Toews
Last Updated Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:45:32 EDT
CBC News

The federal government want courts to have jurisdiction over offenders as young as 10 to help them avoid further crimes, Justice Minister Vic Toews says.

When I saw this story this morning, my first impression was that it was another right-wing ploy to kick the shit out of young people. Let's find out if I was right, shall we?

The Youth Criminal Justice Act makes children older than 12 subject to courts, but under that age, social welfare agencies are the main means of dealing with delinquents.

On Monday, Toews proposed lowering the limit to 10 years of age, saying the point would be to help the children, not jail them.

Hmm, maybe I was wrong! Helping 10-year-olds, rather than incarcerating them! What could be better?

The courts should have that jurisdiction so they "can order appropriate treatment," he told reporters at the Canadian Bar Association conference in St. John's.

"Uh, Captain, I'm picking up a warning light here. A Conservative is using disturbingly vague phrases like 'appropriate treatment'". Yeah, and we know all about what the right thinks appropriate treatment of young people is, don't we.

The change would not necessarily mean charges would be laid, but the courts need some mechanism to intervene in cases where young children act in a criminal way, such as becoming involved with gangs and drugs, he said.

"Sometimes children, by the time they're 12, because the courts have been unable to access them under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, have in fact established a pattern of conduct that will be harmful over the long term," Toews said.

Ok, here's where the problems really start. Toews, being the nasty little piece of shit that he is, is attempting to paint a picture of children falling victim to a life of crime because our namby-pamby justice system can only sit back and helplessly watch while it happens. Which, of course, is bullshit (the following passage is from a document called Child Welfare 2000 on the Human Resources and Social Development Canada website):

When child welfare authorities confirm the need for protection following an investigation, or when circumstances change in an open case, a child may be taken into the care of the child welfare authority by means of a warrant or a court order to remove the child from the home. An application for a warrant or court order to search for and remove (apprehend) a child from the home is made to the court or a justice of the peace, depending on the jurisdiction.

In situations where a child is believed to be at immediate risk of harm, the worker (or police officer with statutory authority) may remove the child immediately without a warrant or court order, when and if delays may further endanger the child. In these instances, a court appearance takes place within a prescribed period of time to justify the action and to determine whether the child is in need of protection.

A judge hearing a protection case may also consider an application from the child welfare authority for a custody order for a child found to be in need of protection. A court order for a child's protection can range from returning the child to the parents or guardians under the supervision of a child welfare authority, to temporary or permanent custody by the authority. Each jurisdiction has its own rules and limitations on orders; these are defined in detail in the following chapters.

Far more despicably, he's also implying that social workers will actually sit back, look at a case file, and say "Yeah, he's nine years old and he's dealing crack, no need to intervene here!", but that's a matter for another day. What's got Toews' knickers in a big sweaty knot has nothing to do with any inability of the courts to get at these kids, since the courts plainly can intervene. It is simply that he cannot bring criminal sanctions to bear against 10-year-old children. Back to the CBC article:

Proponents of the change argue that, in some circumstances, children aged 12 who have criminal connections — carrying drugs for a gang, for example — may be too set in their ways to rehabilitate. Opponents say children under that age are not aware of the consequences of their actions.

The current act is based on the principles of preventing crime "by addressing the circumstances underlying a young person’s offending behaviour," rehabilitation and ensuring young offenders are "subject to meaningful consequences."

And that's what he wants inflicted on 10-year-olds. So, if you're ten, and your mother's abusive boyfriend is pimping you to his creep pedophile friends, take what comfort you can from the notion that Canada's Justice Minister wants you to face "meaningful consequences".

'Tis the Season to be Optimistic

Via Alternet:

2005 Wasn't All Bad
By Katha Pollitt, The Nation. Posted January 3, 2006.
Bush is on the defensive. The GOP is mired in corruption. The media are waking up. Here are 14 good things that happened in 2005.

All year long it's been one piece of bad news after another, but now it's time to put on the rose-colored glasses and list some of the good things that happened in 2005.

Indeedy. And I'd add a couple to the list:

15) On the local front, it seems that the national (and even international) embarassment that has been the EPS for the last few years may be getting better. We've got a new chief, and his plan to improve matters seems to involve (Shock! Horror!) talking to citizens.

16) Nationally, we finally joined a handful of other progressive nations and legalized gay marriage. Decriminalization of marijuana fell by the wayside, but 1 out of two at leasts indicates some progress in ridding ourselves of some of our dumber laws.

17) Oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge got shot down. Twice. In a year that included drowning polar bears and nearly-extinct bengal tigers, we'll take what we can get.

RCMP admit failure in not responding to 911 call
Last Updated Thu, 29 Dec 2005 18:36:35 EST
CBC News

RCMP in Alberta admit they made a mistake when they failed to respond to a 911 call from a woman who was later stabbed to death in her home.

Brenda Moreside, 44, was killed in February in High Prairie, about 300 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Her common-law husband, Stanley Willier, was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Ok, it was an absolutely stunning error in judgement not to respond to the call, and I think at least some heads have got to roll for it. However, it does illustrate, clearly, how the police need to deal with such errors. You acknowledge that you made a mistake, and get down to the hard work of taking concrete steps to make sure it never happens again, which is what the RCMP seems to be doing in this case. You do not, as a random example, stonewall, get huffily defensive, refuse to allow any public input into what you're doing, and hunt for reasons to arrest your critics (To be fair, those were sins of prior police administrations; the new guy hasn't done anything to earn public ire yet).

Three Posts In One Day??? Three Posts???? Somebody stop us...

Anyway, there are signs that the sordid saga of the Edmonton Police Service's inability to pull its head out of its ass (and, it must be said, the Police Commission's inability to even find its ass with both hands, a map, and a flashlight) may be coming to an end:

New Edmonton chief could be hired today
Last updated Nov 10 2005 09:10 AM MST
CBC News

Edmonton's new police chief is expected to be approved by city council today, ending a nine-month search for the top cop and marking the first time in more than 30 years an outsider will helm the service.

Councillors have confirmed that the police commission is in talks with Mike Boyd, a 52-year-old retired Toronto police officer who spent nine years as that city's deputy chief.

Ok, he's from outside the force. That's good. He seems to know (how could he not?) what he's getting himself into. That's also good. Typing "Mike Boyd police brutality" into Google brought up a page seemingly devoted to Tupac Shakur, and nothing at all to do with this particular Mike Boyd. That joins the ranks of things that are good. So, the Oi! Thump! Cultural Observation Squad will remain cautiously optimistic. Why "cautiously?" Well, there is this...

King worked with Boyd on the national task force on drug abuse. He said Boyd was a remarkably accomplished and popular senior officer in Toronto. "Edmonton would do well to get someone of his calibre," he said.

"You could call 100 people in the Toronto Police Service and you wouldn't hear a bad word about him."

Chief Bob was popular with his cops as well, and we all know how that turned out. However, for now we charitably extend the benefit of the doubt. It will be interesting to see what happens.

You have got to be fucking kidding me...

Ex-city police chief Bob Wasylyshen says he'd consider returning to the post

Comeback of the year? Could be.

Retired police chief Bob Wasylyshen left the door open for a return to the Edmonton Police Service yesterday.

The chief, who was popular both with rank-and-file cops and citizens, says he'd consider returning to the top-cop job if he's approached by the headhunting firm searching for the next chief.

Jeebus. He was popular with the rank-and-file because he let them do whatever they wanted, and the only reason he seemed popular with civilians was because everybody was too terrified of the rank-and-file doing whatever they wanted to say anything about it.

[snip]
Wasylyshen added he's heard from rank-and-file officers who say they'd like him to return.

That would be rank-and-file officers (isn't that an oxymoron, BTW?) like his son, we presume. Ye gods, just when you think the EPS couldn't continue its decline from one of the best forces in the world (and not that long ago, either) to a complete fucking joke, we find out that the asshole who started the slide wants his job back. Jesus fucking wept.

Ze Veek uf Hell iz Ofer...
Which doesn't explain the lack of posting, except for the past few days. Anyway, I've just written the worst damn essay I've ever produced, taught the deadest tutorial in the history of tutorials, and so on and so forth. Meanwhile, things have been happening in the world:

We're still burying Mounties. This was a horrific event. 'Nuff said.

The U.S. is still fucking up in Iraq. This is also a horrific thing. I'll be in Italy in a few weeks, and it'll be interesting to see what the opinion "on the street" is.

Paul Cellucci is still being a douchebag. Paul Cellucci is a horrific thing... well not really. What he is is a thug.

And so on and so forth...

Week 1 of unemployment going just fine, thank you...


And now there's this non-story...

Cops file complaint
ANDREA SANDS, CITY HALL BUREAU

Rank-and-file cops want the Edmonton Police Commission chairman punished or fired for making "unprofessional" public statements about officers, says the president of Edmonton's police union. Staff Sgt. Peter Ratcliff confirmed yesterday he has written to Mayor Bill Smith on behalf of 1,200 Edmonton Police Association members, arguing commission chairman Martin Ignasiak has lost his objectivity "and that he either needs to be disciplined in some way or removed."

OK kiddies, let's review. The appalling statements made by Ignasiak were basically to the effect that high-speed chases are dangerous and we have too many of them (see Oi! Thump!s passim) and that he didn't think police used their tasers too much. Oh the horror. The problem here, of course, is the same problem it's been for the last several years, and that is that the EPS absolutely refuses to accept any criticism on any issue from any person. And this will be the problem (and it's a problem for the decent rank-and-file police officers as well) until we fucking well get a civilian oversight committee together to custodiat the custodies, as it were. Of course, any suggestion that that might be the way to go provokes screams of bloody murder from the police brass. Sigh. Anyway, my favouritest quote from the Edmonton Sun article is this one:

The critical comments have created a "very dangerous and confrontational atmosphere" for officers responding to calls, [Staff Sgt. Peter] Ratcliff argued.

From a police force whose most recently departed chief was infamous for the confrontational attitude he urged his officers to adopt, that's just pathetic.

A wee punk pic this afternoon...


Edmonton leads the country in police chases
Last Updated Fri, 13 Aug 2004 14:00:49 EDT

EDMONTON - Police in Edmonton got into more car chases last year than in any other Canadian city, and more than twice as many as five years ago.

I'm not sure what to make of this, actually. While my general tendency would be to simply to put it down to the fact that the Edmonton Police have a reputation for being, shall we say, over-aggressive, the numbers are so strange that I think a deeper cause is required. What numbers, you ask? Well, here they are:

CAR CHASES IN 2003
Edmonton 232
Toronto 176
Montreal 142
Winnipeg 132
Vancouver 98
Calgary 70
Ottawa 31
Windsor 11

Now, there are a number of possibilities to consider here. First off, we don't know how the different cities tallied up the results. If one city included any incident where the pursuit broke 80 km/hr, and another only counted those that broke 120, that would make a striking difference. It's a distinct possibility, and one that can't be discounted until the actual methodology is seen.

The second possibility is that, in fact, the Edmonton Police are far too quick to stomp on the gas and head off in pursuit of other vehicles. Keeping in mind that those numbers are from 2003, when Chief Bob's extraordinarily confrontational attitude towards the general public was still official policy, this too is a possibility that cannot be shrugged off.

A third possibility is that Edmontonian criminals are far more likely to run away from the Police. I actually don't think this one has much validity, since the number of chases are so much greater for Edmonton, both raw and per capita, that this theory simply can't provide a decent explanation.

So, back where I started, I still don't know what to make of this. I'll be very interested to see this year's numbers, that's for sure. However, the one thing does spring to mind here; aren't we supposed to have a helicopter (maintained by our tax dollars and fueled entirely by Bob Layton's sense of self-righteousness) that was bought (in 2000, incidently) explicitly to help moderate the number and effect of high-speed police chases?

Hmmm...Punkalicious...


So, I'm desperately trying to come up with a topic for a Directed Reading course, to be done over e-mail with my supervisor in Italy this fall. So far it looks like something related to the Roman Economy in the 3rd Century A.D.

Not much else going on today. However:

Veteran cop charged
PAUL COWAN, EDMONTON SUN

A 26-year-veteran of the Edmonton Police Service has been charged in connection with a shooting incident on the city's north side in March. City police launched the investigation after it was claimed an officer blinded with pepper spray opened fire on a fleeing suspect March 1 in the area of 128 Street and 129 Avenue.

Apparently the officer in question opened fire AFTER he'd been shot in the eyes with pepper spray. I'm sure his fellow officers appreciated a half-blind, panicked man blasting away in their immediate vicinity. On the plus side, under chief Bob there is no damn way this would have gone to court.

Excitement on Campus

U of A on alert after library stabbing

Edmonton - The University of Alberta has tightened security after a student was stabbed while studying at the library Tuesday.

Police are still looking for the three men who attacked the 19 year old.

Jerry Donahue, with campus security, says the teen was studying on the second floor of the Cameron library when he was attacked around noon.

Ye gods. Apparently the young victim walked across quad to Health Services, bleeding copiously, and yet nobody saw him and called 911. That's just wrong, in my humble opinion. Anyway, it all adds up to an upsetting day for the library staff (which, at that particular library, includes on of my soccer players). It also adds up to a bit more excitement than Campus Security probably needs, particularly as they're now going to have to catch the little bastards responsible. Since it doesn't sound like the attack was random, this probably shouldn't be too hard. It will all, hopefully, lead to a permanent increase in security at the library, where theft and, now apparently, attempted murder have become serious problems.

In other on-campus crime notes, there was a note in The Gateway's "Campus Crime Beat" this week that a young man had called Campus Security to protest that he had been spied upon in the Phys Ed locker room showers by an old man who had been vigourously 'pleasuring himself.' The note described the young man's state as "distraught." Now, I'm thinking that if the most upsetting thing that happens to you in a day is being wanked at by an old man, you're probably not having too bad a time. You could, for example, be being stabbed in Cameron Library!!

Chief Bob Speaks!!

Chief says he was cleared of misconduct allegations

Edmonton - An angry Chief Bob Wasylyshen fired back Wednesday at allegations that officers had demanded sexual favours from prostitutes, saying his name had wrongly been associated with the 20-year-old file and he was cleared.

"I was told I was wrongfully identified," Wasylyshen said. "The thing I want to emphasize is the allegations, as they pertain to me, are false. They were false in 1983 and they are false today."

Another hilarious article! The CBC has been gold today... Anyway, so Bob Wasylyshen rounded up a posse of yes-men (they did, actually and in fact, applaud him when he said that he had not raped prostitutes in the 1980s) and held a wee press conference this afternoon, during which he responded in typical Edmonton police fashion. Which is to say, he was blustery and indignant, and tried avoid taking any kind of responsibility. However, my 'favourite' bit of the speech was the following:

As well, he questioned why anyone with concerns wouldn't come to the police or the law enforcement review board.

"Why won't they bring the information forward to people who can do something about it?" he said.

That was when I got angry. You see, the straight-up answer to that question is "Because the people who can do something about it won't." Two decades ago more than 20 women went to the police (that would be "people who can do something about it") with the information that they were raped by policemen (i.e., "concerns"), and the police response was to bury the investigation. That incident, Chief Bob, and about a squintillion like it, are the reasons people despair of getting any kind of justice in this city when they have complaints against the police. They're the reasons we need independent people investigating the police, as if that wasn't blindingly obvious to anyone with even a halfway reliable moral compass. And they're why, more and more now, when Edmontonians ask "Quis custodiat ipsos custodies," the answer comes back "Nobody."

Mayor, councillor back police

Edmonton - The mayor and a city councillor are defending their police service and its chief, after allegations arose that a 20-year-old investigation into officers demanding sexual favours from prostitutes was shelved.

Mayor Bill Smith says he doesn't believe the allegations of misconduct, and that there is no evidence to back them up. Coun. Ron Hayter agrees, saying the Edmonton Police Service "has performed admirably over the years and provided exceptionally strong policing."

Uh, Mayor Smith, you lying little weasel, there is evidence. This whole situation has occurred because there is evidence, and the police force has performed admirably in covering it up. 23 different women complained that policemen were demanding sexual favours from them - that is evidence of misconduct, right there. And, Mr. Mayor, you do the long-suffering citizens of you city a great disservice when you do not aggressively investigate allegations that the fucking Chief of Police, for fuck's sake, used his position as cop to essentially commit rape (sorry, demanding sex from prostitutes because you're a policeman is rape in my book).

Allegations of police misconduct resurface

Edmonton - A retired police officer says he was ordered to shelve his investigation into allegations that police officers were demanding sexual favours from prostitutes 20 years ago.

The resurfacing of those allegations has led Martin Ignasiak, head of the Edmonton police commission, to call for an independent agency to investigate complaints against police officers. But he says if a system of third-party investigation is developed, he wouldn't ask it to look into these two-decade-old allegations.

Vern Colley, the officer who looked into complaints from 23 women, says in an affidavit he was ordered to shelve his investigation, which came up with nine names, soon after it started in 1983.

One of the names Colley had on his list was now Chief Bob Wasylyshen, who says he was "wrongly identified while Mr. Colley was using improper and unreliable methods to identify possible suspects. The allegation that I engaged in any misconduct is false."

The underlining is mine. I actually laughed out loud when I read this article this morning. I've been a non-fan of Bob Wasylyshen for some time, and it appears that I may have actually been on to something (No smoke without fire, after all). Now, I'm not saying for certain that Chief Bob was getting his wick dipped by hookers for free 20 years ago, but from what I've read of the man and his attitude towards the general public (an attitude that has unfortunately spread throughout the police force), I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be the case. I will be surprised if anything is actually done about these allegations, however...