Bad Cops are Bad Business

OK another set of related news articles has my blood boiling. The first is the front page of today's (yesterday's) Vancouver Province. It was an article about the trial of the New Westminster cop who assaulted the newspaper delivery man in Vancouver along with two of his friends. What a farce.

The article goes off about some absurd legal debate surrounding the case that clearly points to obscurity. I'm not upset with the reporter. Just the lawyers and the judicial system. A West Van cop got drunk assaulted and robbed a man in a completely unprovoked attack. He was off duty. He called his drinking buddies for help and they leave the bar to assist him. In steps New Westminster Const. Jeffrey Klassen.

Klassen jumps in to assist West Vancouver Const. Griffin Gillan beat up the Newspaper delivery man while Gillan, who has already plead guilty to assault, abused the victim with racial slurs. "Why are you beating me?" "Because we don't like brown people" "Someone call the police" "We are the police."

Defence lawyer Dwight Stewart said Klassen was acting within his rights as an off-duty officer and is protected by the Police Act. Protected by the police act?!!!

"I would argue it wouldn't make any difference if Const. Klassen pulled up in a police car [rather than a cab]," Stewart said. "This is a use-of-force to prevent an offence."

No this is the problem. Off duty cops who think they are God and can become on duty cops at the snap of a finger at will. In this case to assault and rob someone in an unprovoked attack.

Dingledorf Dwight is right about one thing, it really doesn't matter if his client pulled up in a police car or a cab. What he did was wrong and if he did it on duty instead of off duty it would still have been assault and he still would not be protected by the Police Act. The Police Act does not empower off duty or on duty police officers to break the law and assault people while abusing them with racial slurs.

This is their use of force instructor for God's sake. Several city workers testified they saw Klassen punching Khan on the back of the head while on top of him. Klassen testified he was only slapping and poking Khan while yelling arrest orders. He is a liar as well as a drunk who helped one of his off duty pals rob and assault someone in an unprovoked attack.

Arrest orders? He has no authority to arrest him other than civilian authority. To make a citizen's arrest he has to witness the person commit a crime which he did not do because the victim had not committed a crime. It was an unprovoked attack.

Several witnesses said they saw Klassen punching Khan on the back of the head while he was on top of him. We don't need video footage. This guy should not be the use of force instructor any more. Period. There should be no debate on that matter. This case clearly shows why a civil agency is needed to hear police complaints and why the current private members bill needs to be amened so that it applies to all police forces in BC not just the RCMP.

They need to relieve Klassen of his use of force training duties immediately and contract out the retired VPD Ninja John Mckay until they find a suitable replacement. John McKay would never sanction that let alone teach that. He would say if someone said I'm going to kick your ass and started moving towards you in an aggressive manner you have the right to defend yourself. He would never say you have the right to assault and rob someone in an unprovoked attack. Get a grip.

The guy's a freak. Klassen was angry when Jaswal told him he was going to be arrested. Jaswal told the court that Klassen told him, “Don’t you dare do that. I taught you.” OK so now he not only is abusing his authority as a police officer but he also abused his authority as a trainer. He should be relieved of both duties automatically. It's not just a matter of him getting drunk and getting in a fight when he was off duty. It's about him consciously abusing his authority as a police officer to commit a crime.

When the arresting officer arrived on the scene he saw three men on top of the victim. Get that? He saw three men on top of him not two. In another report Klassen was quoted as complaining that his rights were violated when he was searched. The lawyer at that time claimed Klassen was just angry they found the victim's cell phone in his pocket which he had robbed from the victim.

So we have two problems on the table. Abusing your authority as a police officer while off duty to commit a crime and bragging about drinking excessively ten or twenty drinks as though that someone excuses the conduct and the commission of crime. Which ties into our next article in the same edition of the Vancouver Province.

Assault charges were dropped against a Surrey RCMP Officer after he assaulted a fellow off duty officer in a bar for calling him a fag. What a bunch of freakin kids. Back in the day, the RCMP had this unscathed Dudly Do Right persona that was reinforced in Paul Gross' Due South series. These clowns are tarnishing the image and diminishing us as Canadians. We need a civilian agency to restore dignity to the force(s).

Cops like to go to the bar, get drunk and get in fights. Great. Maybe they should be held accountable because we can clearly see what kind of bold faced arrogance surfaces when they are not publicly accountable.

Oh but wait, I missed one. Another Kelowna resident complained about recent police brutality and their excessive use of force. Clearly these guys need to be retrained. Clearly John McKay is the man for the job because it is urgent.

Oh but wait, here's yet ANOTHER. Two Vancouver police officers are seeking to quash a decision by the police complaint commissioner to hold a hearing into their conduct during an alleged excessive-force case. These are the guys that went to the wrong door and gave the boots to the wrong person. These are the same two cops who returned to the guy's house after they beat the tar out of him and ask him not to file a complaint.

The Delta Police investigation was a complete farce so police complaint commissioner Stan Lowe ordered a hearing. But in a petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the two officers say that Lowe did not have the authority to appoint retired Supreme Court judge Bruce Preston as an adjudicator to hear the matter.

Doesn't have the authority. What a crock of shit. He's the freaking Police Commissioner bitch. Doesn't have the authority. Fuck you. That kind of Rodney King shit starts riots. I'm not saying the public should riot because looting and vandalizing things is absolutely stupid but this arrogant attitude needs to stop.

This isn't just one or two cases, it has become a plague of absurdity which has swept across every police force in the province. A Regional police force will not solve it. A civilian agency has become essential. Public accountability in the only answer. The police officers who arrogantly refuse public accountability need to be fired while the others than are willing to embrace it need to be retrained. That has become very clear. Canadian dignity and self respect demand it. That is the Canadian model.

FBI Mob Crackdown in U.S.

Wait a minute... All these criminals are crackers. Can we deport them back to Italy? Those crackers got jacked up.

The longtime boss of the New England branch of La Cosa Nostra (The Patriarca) was among the 127 suspected mobsters and Mafia associates indicted Thursday in one of the FBI’s largest ever mob sweeps.

Reputed Rhode Island Mafia boss Luigi “Baby Shanks” Manocchio, 83, and suspected mob associate Thomas Iafrate, 63, extorted cash “protection” payments for nearly two decades from the owners of several Providence strip clubs, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Providence.



U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said a total of 127 people face charges laid out in indictments in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Janice Fedarcyk, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York division, said the operation was "the largest mob round-up in FBI history."

Members of each of New York's "five families" -- the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese families -- are among those facing charges, Holder said.

The reputed head of a New England crime family was also among those arrested on Thursday.

The suspects face charges for a range of serious crimes, including murder, loan-sharking, drug trafficking, arson and labour racketeering.

Holder said some of the suspects are accused of what he described as "truly senseless" killings, well beyond the typical violence directed at rival mob members.

"In one instance, a victim was allegedly shot and killed during a botched robbery attempt and two other murder victims allegedly were shot in a public bar because of a dispute over a spilled drink," said Holder.

Feds take down Gambino Family

Arrests include:



John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico. Reputed acting boss of the Gambinoo crime family. He made a plea bargain last summer. This is the person who took over for John Gotti.




Alledged underboss Domenico Cefalu was also arrested. He too was arrested in a 2008 sweep.



Alledged consigliere Joseph "Jo Jo” Corozzo.

This appears to be an ongoing investigations as arrests were also made in 2008 following up on the John Gotti incarceration. Now that is the New York model. Let's give it up for New York!



The sad thing is how many brain dead sheep look up to the wealth murders have as was dramatized in the reality TV show Growing up Gotti. However, now that the money is gone so is the fame. Some things money just can't buy.

On a side note, during the late 1980s, Vittorio "Vic" Amuso began demanding 50% of the profits generated by the Jersey Crew. New Jersey leaders Anthony Accetturo and Michael Taccetta refused Amuso's demand. In retaliation, Amuso ordered his men to "Whack Jersey", meaning eliminate the entire New Jersey faction, and summoned them to a meeting in Brooklyn, New York. Fearful for their lives, all the Jersey crew members skipped the meeting and went into hiding.

Peter "Fat Pete" Chiodo turned informant after Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso ordered a hit on him. He was shot 12 times but survived. As pay bay they broke the code and shot his sister. Everything's gone down hill from there. It all happened because of greed.

Police Seize Prince George Bling

Well this is kind of like one BC judge at the bottom of the ocean: it's a good start. The Police in Prince George seized a member of the Game Tights Soldiers jewelry under the proceeds of crime legislation. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

However, it may be more of a kick the cat. Rumour has it that is was Joey Arrance from the GTS who has his bling seized by the police. If that's true I would find that frighteningly suspicious. Why would the police seize his bling AFTER he fell out of favour with the Hells Angels or whoever burned down his tattoo shop and his girlfriends house while he was in jail with his girlfriend's wheelchair bound mother in it who died as a result? If they seized his bling I'd have to say WTF?

Civilian Agency

Ian Mulgrew wrote an editorial in the Vancouver Sun yesterday that hit the nail on the head. The Kelowna RCMP incident underscores the need for a civilian agency. It doesn't underscore the need for a Regional police force. Delta, Abbotsford, New Westminster and the VPD have as much excessive force problems as the RCMP. What we need is a civil agency to oversea the complaint process and make all police forces publicly accountable. Wouldn't that be nice?

Let's face it, seizing your car after two drinks or 40 km over is intrusive and disproportionate. You're allowed to sell or smoke crack in public but they will seize your car if you have two drinks. That is disproportionate.

These extreme and intrusive laws were introduced by the provincial government with the lowest approval rating in the country. That government should not be in charge of a Regional Police force. Yes a Regional Police force works fine in Ontario. BC is different. We have a drunk driver for Premier that introduced silly drinking and driving laws to overcompensate for his own misdeeds. Wait a minute, I thought that guy resigned finally or was that just a dream?

Another Kash Heed Scandal

Well Kash Heed made the front page of the Vancouver Sun yesterday with another breaking "scandal." Is that guy in or is he out? First he resigned pending an investigation. Then he was back in after being cleared in the investigation. Then he was out again because the person in charge of his investigation was one of his campaign contributors.

I guess he's back in cause the Sun talked about another scandal that wasn't really a scandal but hell, we live for the political drama in BC why not call it one just because. Actually there are two new scandals involving good old Kash. First is the breach of trust charge which claims he used public funds for political purposes.

Oh but wait, who's making the charge? Why it's the RCMP the federal police force that don't want him to turn their force in BC into a Regional one. Isn't that a conflict of interest? Isn't this charge coming from the RCMP a conflict of interest? Yet if he really is guilty of criminal conduct, who else can charge him? A regional police force he created? I'm sure that would be a conflict of interest too. My oh my aren't we conflicted.

OK setting the sarcasm aside momentarily, here's the charge. New MLA's are given moving allowances to spend on furniture and what not. Kash had his own furniture so he signed over the cheque for the furniture to two people who worked for him during his campaign. The RCMP admit it was "free" money because he was entitled to it but didn't spend it on on furniture he spent it on something else. $6,000.00. I don't see that as a very big scandal. Not that I support Kash Heed at all. I'm just cynical about much of what's happening in our political landscape.

Here's the scam. Turns out that the two people he paid using his free money were involved in making that "illegal" anti-NDP pamphlet "he knew nothing about." Big freakin surprise. OK so he's caught with guile. He lied and said he didn't know anything about that nasty anti-NDP pamphlet his campaign office handed out during his election.

Kinda like how Peter MaCkay lied when everyone freaked about his humorous comment during heckling in the house referring to his ex who crossed over to the other political party the night she dumped him as a dog. They were debating the clean air act and the opposition cat calls and yells out this will be good for everyone. Think about your dog. Then Peter points to Belinda Stronach's empty seat on the other side of the house and yells back You already have her.

It was a witty come back. Yet he lied and denied he said it when it was caught on tape. Big deal. It was a funny comment given the circumstances lying about it isn't really necessary. I will note that MacKay has sure stepped up in the world with his new dinner date. Wow. Anyways, back on topic.

Kash Heed knew full well HIS campaign office was sending out those anti-NDP drama flyers that someone has deemed "Illegal." I can't remember all of what was in it, but it was pretty typical right wing rhetoric and stereotypes about the NDP. Stuff like "the NDP are soft on crime" and "the NDP want to legalize drugs." I'm sure some NDP wanted to legalize marijuana. We know the green party does and many federal liberals. The NDP being soft on crime is a common stereotype. It's really not surprising they made the erroneous claim in an election flyer. In reality the BC NDP have been a lot better on crime than the BC Liberals like Wally didn't get reelected for a reason Oppal who said everything was fine.

So the "big" scandal is Kash Heed knew about the pamphlet and paid people in his campaign for it with money he was given to spend on new furniture. Whatever. Now that we've got that out of our system let's look at the next Kash Heed scandal involving Catherine Urquhart.



Global BC TV news reporter Catherine Urquhart is being taken off the air pending a review into whether she breached any journalistic standards. The decision comes after a recently unsealed search warrant revealed an email exchange between Urquhart and former solicitor-general Kash Heed's campaign manager Barinder Sall.

Here is the intercepted private e-mail conversation between them that became unsealed in a search warrant and was published in the paper for the world to see:

"I can honestly say Kash would not be SG [solicitor-general] today if it hadn’t been for some key people behind the scenes,” Sall wrote to Urquhart on June 10, 2009.

“There were only truly 3 people that played a major role: Me, Peter Dhillon and yourself and Kash knows this,” he added.

"Peter was the money guy, I’m the brown tanned James Bond strategy girl-chasing guy and you were like the communications director . . . your stories, coverage and timing gave Kash a lot of profile and built him a following from day 1 at West Van and then leading into the election.”

In response, Urquhart wrote: “Hey . . . that’s really sweet of you. Have to say — there were a number of people along the way (cops and reporters — mostly cops) who seemed to have it out for Kash. But I always believed he was a good guy. I’m truly glad it worked out! C”

The guy is thanking a reporter for writing positive things about his client. She expressed her opinion that some, "mostly cops" had it in for him. Ooooo big surprise there. Why would the RCMP have it in for him? Because he was talking about creating a Regional Police force. Something I'm not really in support of because the idea of Gordon Campbell or most of our former BC Premiers being in charge of their own police force is somewhat frightening for me to conceive of.

Sall claiming to be the brown tanned James Bond strategy girl-chasing guy is a bit of a gag me with a spoon flirt but come on... this is a private e-mail. Does privacy not exist in our intrusive world any more? Don't give me any of this unethical journalism nonsense.

She printed some articles in support of Kash Heed. Maybe she and her newsroom supported his candidacy. Oooo maybe she and or they support a Regional Police force? Heaven forbid. Media outlets support candidates all the time. Why on earth do you think Harper is trying to create a Fox News North now that they have relaxed the truthful reporting requirement.

Why the Vancouver Sun supported Wally Opal for the position of the Pickton inquiry. Does that make them guilty of unethical news reporting? Of course not. It makes them guilty of having and expressing an opinion which up until recently was a Charter right in this country.

Give her a break. Having to listen to Salls flirts just to get a story has been enough punishment for her. Don't take away her charter right. That would be a very bad precedent for all of us. Catherine Urquhart could well be another Tamara Taggart.

Personally I don't support the B.C. Liberals or Kash Heed. I don't support a Regional Police force either. I support a publicly accountable police force on all levels. Federal, Provincial and Municipal. Let's not turn Kash Heed into a talk show celebrity either by letting him turn the Kelowna RCMP assault into a campaign for a Regional Police Force. Let's just take it for what it is and make all police forces publicly accountable.

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Oh brother here we go again. Another Kash Heed scandal. That guy keeps digging himself in deeper and deeper.

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And deeper and deeper. Looks like he'll be a flash in the pan fading memory. I'm glad Catherine Urquhart is staying on. Criminal investigation give me a break. Private e-mail. If the guy that was hitting on her publicly claimed she was responsible for Heeds election then she should have denied it. It was just a passing comment by a nit that was hitting on her and she was trying to keep it professional.

Surrey Biker Church

Well this is interesting. Front page of the Surrey Now is about a new Biker church in Fleetwood. I thought that was an interesting location as it's near the Davidson biker cafe and it turns out their church meets at the cafe Sunday mornings starting February 6th. Good for them.

I'm a bit hesitant of wackos like Tony Terezakis who pimped the church to sell crack but I'm hopeful this will be different. Nothing wrong with preaching the good word so there's not. We'll give the guy a chance and hear what he has to say. Maybe he'll post his sermons online.

I don't care if you're Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Gentile, Muslim or Buddhist. All I care about is if you keep your word and do what you say. God is not a respecter of persons so he's not. In every nation he that respects him and worketh righteousness is accepted of him.



Take the flag of the Irish Republic. It's called the tricolour. Green represents the Irish Catholic, Orange represents the Protestant Orangemen and White represents Peace. Ya burn that flag and you piss on the dream so you do.

After all these six things doth the Lord hate, yeah seven are an abomination to him. The top three are: a proud look, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood. Indeed a righteous man hateth lying so he does. Keep your word. Don't say one thing and do another and don't shed innocent blood. Cause like James said, faith without works is dead.

Outlaws

Honourable mention goes to the Outlaws MC. Separate and apart from the Hells Angels. Although they have had criminal convictions, most appear to be weapons and assault charges resulting from their beef with the HAs. It does not appear that their primary and exclusive reason for existence it to take over the drug trade with violence.

It does not appear that their main purpose is to sell crack or meth and pimp out women. Turns out they're from Chicago which is a noble point of origin. Word is they're poised to take Ontario which in my opinion would be a good thing.

I clearly don't support a war for the sole purpose of taking over the crack and meth trade. However, since the police are paid by the public and in a democratic society their mandate is driven by the public who elect federal, provincial and municipal governments, we need to prioritize the enforcement and punishment of crime.

Logic dictates we can't throw everyone in jail for jay walking. Activists have been calling for better laws to deal with violent crime. When an innocent civilian is murdered or when someone is swarmed beaten and attacked on the ground with an axe, then those crimes need mandatory minimum sentences. We don't need mandatory minimum sentences for the possession of pot.

Likewise, using police resources which come from tax dollars, to eliminate all the Hells Angels rivals is suspicious if not counter productive. Let them come. If they are caught selling crack or meth then charge them accordingly but don't ban them from coming.

Take note that their logo is of a skull and pistons crossed like a pirate's flag. More likely symbolic of a V twin. Theirs isn't a devil's skull and they don't use the number 666. Interesting. Being an outlaw doesn't necessarily mean you sell crack. Robin Hood was considered an outlaw. In our day Julian Assange would be considered an outlaw simply for telling the truth.

The Outlaws MC wasn't just created a few years ago either. They were created in 1935. The Hells Angels claim they started in 1948. In 1960 the A.M.A. American Motorcycle Association, that supervises all official races in the USA - banned the word Outlaws from all race clothing. There for all racing club members wore the sign OMC on their outfits till 1963.

In 1963 the Outlaws became an official member of the 1%er Brotherhood of Clubs, making it the first true 1%er Club east of the Mississippi. That would be before the Hells Angels who claim ownership of the term. Back then the term 1%er meant the 1% that didn't fit in or conform. It's somewhat ironic that the Hells Angels and all of their drug dealing puppet clubs would use the term. They're a lot more than 1% of them. They all bow down and bend over for the Hells Angels. If someone was a true 1%er, they wouldn't conform to HA demands. ADIOS.

Greed

I recognize that people are always going to sell drugs and that the freedom to chose is an important part of the plan that brought us here so to speak. Yet they say pride cometh before the fall. So we saw with Rome as well as with Israel right before the Babylonian captivity.

The problem we see in BC is greed. A lot of people out there are really struggling trying to make ends meet to support their family. The temptation to launder money or get involved in the drug trade is immense. Yet greed takes it to the next level.

Selling pot isn't good enough. They want that new SUV or Bayliner boat so they have to trade all the pot for cocaine and turn it into crack. There is a difference between pot and crack or meth. A big difference.

No one gets an uncontrollable urge to do a home invasion and attack a senior for five dollars to buy another blunt but they do for crack. We have seen it happen before. Profiting from crack is profiting from the crime the crack heads do to pay for the drug. That drains society.

Look at what meth does to your body. It fucks it up. Profiting from meth is profiting from fucking people up. If everyone was satisfied with the profits they made from grow ops everything would be fine. The problem is they're not satisfied with that. They want more.

Revell made $30,000.00 for David Giles in several moths. That is a lot of money. Hells Angels meth cook Kerry Ryan Renaud was in charge of a crew capable of producing about 15 kilograms of the drug, which sold for $13,000 a kilo, every 10 days. $13,000.00 X 15 every 10 days. That is a lot of money.

That is why the Hells Angels are killing people to control that drug trade here. It's all about greed. I don't agree with the government seizing houses for grow ops. I think that over steps. They should be seizing assets from the likes of David Giles who made so much money from Revell. They should seize the assets of the Hells Angels in Kelowna who profit from those meth labs. That is the proceeds of crime.

Money laundering doesn't just happen in Casinos. It also happens in Real Estate. Those are the assets that should be seized. People profiting from crack or meth not someone running a grow op of pot.

If I run a grow op in my home, which I don't, it's no one else's business. Except for hydro. If I steal hydro that is their business. If I run a grow I can pay for the hydro. Running a grow is not nearly as dangerous to the public as running a meth lab is. That is a concern for public safety.

The problem is if I run a grow op the Hells Angels come in and say I have to run it for them. No I don't. That kind of greed will fall. Mark my word.

Anne MacKenzie in Anne Injustice

The David Giles / Revell / Remple case brings us back to one thing: Anne Injustice. The Crown had a solid case connecting Hells Angel David Giles to the cocaine deals of Revell and Remple but she threw out wire tap evidence and said she didn't hear what the police heard on the wiretaps. Oh really?

One wire tap phone call had Giles referring to how Revell had made $30,000 for him in the past several months. Giles' lawyer admitted that proved Revell and Giles are indeed in business. So, if Giles' lawyer admits Giles and Revell were in business, what kind of work did Revell do for Giles that earned Giles $30,000 in several months?

If the police heard him say that on the wiretap and his lawyer heard him say that on the wiretap, then surely Anne Mackenzie heard him say that. Her throwing out wiretap evidence is very suspicious indeed. If she is understandably afraid for her safety in prosecuting a member of the Hells Angels then she shouldn't accept tax payers money to do that job. That would be welfare fraud.

She handed out gag orders for the Hells Angels as well but she's not the only one. The Chief Crack Pot Peter Leask made a publication ban on the name of the Hells Angel meth cook Kerry Ryan Renaud was cooking the meth for.

However, in Punko and Potsie's trial, which was not covered by a publication ban, Michael Plante testified that Renaud was making and selling meth along with East Van Hells Angel John Punko which also involved Ron Lising and Randy Potts.

Renaud previously had been caught cooking six kilograms of the drug on the eighth floor of a 20-storey apartment tower in Surrey. He received a three year sentence.

Renaud was out on bail when he was busted again in July 2005. He was accused of producing meth over a nine-month period ending in January 2005.

The Crown said Renaud was in charge of a crew capable of producing about 15 kilograms of the drug, which sold for $13,000 a kilo, every 10 days. All for the Hells Angels just like the meth lab in Kelowna on Postill Drive.

So here we clearly see two huge meth lab operations run by the Hells Angels and a huge judicial cover up of their connection to those operations. That is very sad. Gee I wonder which Kelowna Hells Angel the Postill Drive meth lab was for? Can't blame that on Punko and Potsie.

It's not surprising to hear Anne MacKenzie presided over the BC Rail scandal which was gagged, delayed and never broke. Funny how a settlement was reached before Gordon Campbell was implicated. He knew full well what those two were doing.

Kelowna Police Brutality

Here's a story that a few people do care about. It's another case of police brutality in BC that generated an angry rally of not thugs but concerned citizens. A Kelowna rally of concerned citizens expressed their outrage over a video of a Kelowna police officer kicking a compliant suspect in the face while he was on his knees.

Now there's three points I'm going to make. Fist, responding to a call of shots fired in a public place is an obvious concern. What kind of shots and who were they aimed at? For all we know this could have been a wacko shooing innocent civilians.

However, it wasn't. Thus the lofty goal of innocent until proven guilty. Thus the role of the courts to hear evidence. The bottom line is no matter what the possibilities were, the suspect was on his knees and compliant.

This video is just one of many that show the bizarre nature of policing in Canada. It's a plague of kick the cat. Kicking suspects when they are on the ground being compliant while they refuse to face or confront gang members who are the real threat to society. No disrespect to the Gang Task Force. They are sincerely trying to address the gang problem. Yet it's hard for the public to overcome stereotypes when they see regular officers fail to confront gang members but kick other suspects in the head when they are on the ground.

The good news is that the public rallied and protested. It's about time. Practically Every police force in BC has been caught doing this lately. We had the delta cop with the New west cop in charge of use of force training get hammered drunk before they assaulted and robbed a newspaper delivery driver in Vancouver.

We had the VPD give the wrong guy the boots in Vancouver. We had the Victoria police officer caught on tape kicking compliant suspects on the ground and we even had an Abbotsford police officer caught on video kicking a suspect in the head while he was on the ground. This kind of arrogance needs to stop.



Seeing this video makes me wonder about the APD investigating the Kelowna assault. The public concern is good because something needs to be done. The Ottawa incident shows us how large the problem really is.

This is why it is important for us to squarely address the organized crime problem in BC without over reacting and creating some bizarre kind of "Patriot" act that will empower the wrong people to continue abusing their role.

Nevertheless, the fact that people cared enough to show up and protest peacefully was a good sign. Rioting and looting is just insane. This protest was very credible and received instant attention. The other cases haven't but at least it's a step forward. Nevertheless, there still needs to be a greater role by a civilian body to investigate alleged crimes by police.

On that note, NDP MP Nathan Cullen has introduced a private members bill to create an independent civilian oversight agency for the RCMP. The bill has not yet been debated in Parliament.

I do however think it's very said the police publicly claimed that their recommendation of assault charges had nothing to do with the rally. It perpetuates the arrogance that the police feel they are above and beyond public accountability. If something happens that angers the public enough for them to hold a public rally, one would hope that in a democratic society where the public pays the wages of the police, the police would listen to the public concerns. Perpetuating the whole arrogant stereotype that the police don't care what the public thinks because they are not accountable to the public is very undemocratic.



Turns out the second Kelowna police brutality complaint was against the same officer. The cop who kicked the guy in the face while he was kneeling on the ground was the same cop accused of a wrongful arrest where he dragged a guy out of his vehicle and punched him in the head. Const. Geoff Mantler.