Jim Chu saves the day

We all know the police have taken a few PR shots over the last few years. The most obvious one was the RCMP taser incident at the airport. What a tragedy. Obviously it was a mistake. Personally I have a problem with police getting a guy on the ground then tasering him over and over again while they already have him down. I would deem that to be a miss use of the weapon.

Nevertheless, we know the VPD have taken a few hits as well. Beating up the wrong guy when they responded to a domestic dispute comes to mind. The young cop that was caught selling pot on duty is another yet the RCMP just caught one of theirs for possession of pot. For me the cop pushing the disabled woman to the ground was the real shocker.

So here we have Jim Chu front and centre problem solving like he does so well. In response to the provincial government's proposed model for an Independent Investigation Office he has called for a greater role by a civilian body to investigate alleged crimes by police. I agree. Any appointed body is met with cynicism. Especially the new appointment to the RCMP. I think an increased role of a civilian body would be a healthy balance and help restore or build public trust.

No right to lawyer during interrogation

I'm going to have to process this one but it's another example of the courts interpreting the charter of rights instead of the people. The court specifically noted Canadians do not have the same rights as Americans do during interrogations.

They claim the charter right to speak with a lawyer upon arrest doesn't mean the lawyer has to be present during the entire interrogation which is sometimes a very long process. I'm not sure what my position on the matter is off hand other than the observation that it means people have more rights in America than in Canada which I'm not sure I'm comfortable with.

I guess that's why the Americans torture people on foreign soil. I guess that means Canada won't have to send people to Afghanistan or Sudan to be tortured. Now they can do it right here. Hey maybe they'll move Guantanamo Bay to Canada.

275 Kg Cocaine Seized in Vancouver

Police seized 275 kilograms of cocaine in a recent Vancouver drug bust. Well that's more than the 9 kilograms of cocaine seized from David Giles and his associates Revell and Rempel. It's also more than the 52 kilograms of cocaine seized from Glen Hehn and his associates Ewan Lilford.

But it wasn't as much as the 2 1/2 tons of Hells Angels cocaine seized. No charges were laid in that case thanks to Richard Barszczewski.

And it wasn't as much as the ton of cocaine seized in Port Hardy. Interesting that the really large cocaine busts are never tied to a criminal organization. Much.

Another Haney Hells Angel dead

Jose Gonzalez was a member of the Haney Hells Angels. On June 22, 1999, charges of extortion against East End member John Virgil Punko and Haney member Jose Gonzalez were dropped by the Crown after its key witness - the owner of a Richmond seafood company - refused to return from his native Japan to testify.

Gonzalez... that's a name found in El Salvador and in Honduras... In fact, that's the same last name as a guy who was charged in that recent large cocaine bust in Vancouver - Eduardo Gonzalez. No relation of course.

Well all of a sudden Jose's dead. He died a sudden death on October 1 2010. Some say it was a suicide. Others are skeptical. He's not the first Haney Hells Angel to have died a sudden death.

Ernie Ozolins, who had just left the Haney Hells Angels, was gunned down on June 2, 1997, along with girlfriend Lisa Chamberlain at Ozolins' s West Vancouver house. The murder remains unsolved.

Rick (Blackie) Burgess, Haney Hells Angel, vanished on Jan. 7, 2002. He was declared legally dead in 2004, but his disappearance has not been solved.

Ross Douglas McLellan, 59, a key member of the Hells Angels chapter in Haney, "died of natural causes" on an airline flight to Maui in December of 2006.

April 2007 Haney Hells Angel Vincenzo James Sanssalone of Maple Ridge was caught with 600 litres of GHB Date Rape Drug. Mark Figuereo, a Hells angels associate in Ontario was sentenced to 6 years in prison for selling date rape drug for the Hells Angels.

Ashley Machiskinic's murder

Wow. Ashley Machiskinic fell to her death from a hotel room in East Vancouver on September 15 2010. Friends, relatives and advocates are calling it a murder. They claim she was pushed out the window by drug dealers to send a message to other addicts who don't pay their debts.

She landed on her back which is suspicious. One witness claims the person threw her shoes out the window after she fell which would also imply she was thrown out.

A vigil was held for her yesterday and a few protesters occupied the VPD office and wouldn't leave because the police claimed it was a suicide and weren't investigating the case further like the Pickton murders. The protesters were arrested for trespassing.

Obviously people are upset. For good reason. Finally women's groups and First Nation groups are rallying together and speaking out. "Women get their heads shaved for a $30 drug debt, they're killed for $50," said Carol Martin of the Downtown East side Women's Centre. Gee what does VANDU say about that?

That sounds an awful lot like what's happening in Prince George where people will have fingers cut off for a drug debt and have been found chained in the basement of crack houses tortured for drug debts. The article claims that Honduran and Salvadoran dealers, doing a brisk trade Thursday just after "welfare Wednesday," boast of profits as high as $15,000 a month. Their collection methods, if they front a woman drugs that she uses or loses, can be brutal. However, we have learned that in Prince George it's not the Honduran and Salvadoran dealers that are doing the same thing. It's someone else.

"There's been a few women lately thrown out of windows, at the Balmoral, the Regent, women missing fingers, wearing wigs because their heads have been shaved," said Gladys Radek, organizer of the annual Walk 4 Justice in support of missing and murdered women in Vancouver and along the Highway of Tears.

Obviously the police can't do much if people are too afraid to testify. Yet closing the file and saying it was a suicide would be premature at this point. It clearly looks like Vancouver is having similar problems as Prince George with ruthless drug dealers and the suppliers of the two cities may well be connected. Let's face it we all know who supplies the crack for East Van.

Maurice Boucher made Gregory Wooley a member of the Rockers and used him to supply cocaine to the Syndicate or the Crips in Montreal on behalf of the Hells Angels.

Growing public outcry for the mistreatment of addicts is a good thing. The response of the New York model would be to stop letting them sell crack in public at Main and Hastings at the Carnage centre. That would be the first step. Getting people to provide more information to the police as to what's really going on would be another. Arrest the dealers not the addicts.



DTES activist knows of six women thrown out windows over drug debts in East Vancouver over the last two years.

This new article admits that "MacDougall said she doesn't know who killed Machiskinic, but people in the DTES are afraid to tell police investigating her death what they know." So common sense says that if people are afraid to tell police what they know, then we can't blame the police for not making an arrest.

Activists wanting to speak with Jim Chu is a good thing but we need to be leery of activists who just want to fight with the police for any reason they can find. The police aren't perfect but we can't blame them for everything either. We need to start reporting what these drug dealers are doing so arrests can be made. Reporting an abusive drug dealer to the police is not being a rat.

Jammin 4 Jay

Speaking of speeding and reckless driving, I met a guy with a wrecked car. He was speaking out against speeding. The car he had with him was totalled. The front end and the driver side was mangled. The driver had died in the accident. It was his son.

He has a fascinating story to tell. His son was speeding, lost control of his car on a hidden turn, scraped a pole then hit a tree. He was trapped in the car for quite some time before rescue workers were able to get him out. The father arrived at the scene and spoke with his son while they were trying to free him from the vehicle. He waited with his son at the hospital where he was bumped for emergency surgery because they wouldn't send a second anaesthesiologist and died waiting.

It is a powerful and tragic story. The father tours and speaks to high school students about the dangers of speeding. At the hospital the father asked his son if he had learned his lesson about speeding. His son said yes. He asked his son if he would come with him to speak to youth about the dangers of speeding and he said as soon as you wheel me out the front door I'll do it. Unfortunately, they wheeled him out the back door because he was dead. So the father has his sons ashes in the car when he speaks about the event. Very powerful. His sons runners are still trapped in the drivers compartment because they were unable to get them out.

Relating this to our recent event of reckless driving I'd have to say that there's a big difference between opening a motorcycle up on the freeway in a straightaway away from traffic and weaving in and out of traffic in a construction zone. The latter is just plain irresponsible because it puts others at risk. It's the kind of thing a young kid would do not a grown man. It doesn't display the wisdom and maturity of a seasoned biker. The other biker who lost his life and the life of his passenger last Saturday because he was glaring at a kid who didn't see him was also tragic. Those kinds of losses are senseless. It's not the kind of thing a grown man would brag about.

Anyways the father has a web site called Jammin4Jay and is well worth visiting. He's a powerful speaker and has an excellent presentation for schools and youth.

Bobby Cocks

Is this guy's name for real? OK I'm gonna bite my tongue on the name thing and raise two points. Here's a guy who finally looks like he could be a biker. Someone got all bent out of shape when I said Bob Green didn't look like a biker he looked like a businessman. They said he wears leather and has tattoos. I said having tattoos doesn't make you a biker. Bob Green looks like a businessman. Sure he could dress up like a biker but that doesn't make him one.

This other guy finally looks like he could be a biker. He doesn't look like the type of guy that would have a huge fairing or a pink princess seat on his bike. He looks like he might even ride a hard tail. Maybe a pan head or a shovel head. Something that drips with class. None of these brand new bikes that look like a Goldwing. I doubt he wears sneakers when he rides.

He looks like a noble old timer yet I can still see some of the boy in him. Part of him that idolizes the big red machine and covets respect and honour.



Someone thought the patch member in the photo was his son. If that's the case then I'd have to say good on him. Not for having a son in the Hells Angels but for having a son and being a father. The side rocker says nomads and the crest says Nor Cal. Surely that wouldn't be Northern California. It is a BC patch.

Nomads Northern California is where Otis Garret was from. They ran the love nest brothel in San Fransisco and murdered Margo Compton and her twin seven year old daughters. That is nothing to be proud of. That is like proudly wearing a patch that says I love Clifford Olsen.

Yet Bobby Cocks is using that lame I love Clifford Olsen photo for his profile picture on facebook.



So he's telling the world the throttlelockers are affiliated with the Hells Angels just like the Zig Zag Crew were. I wonder how much that endorsement costs each month? We know the Zig Zag crew had to pay dues to maintain the Hells Angels endorsement.



We were told that the Bobbsey twins collected dues from the Zig Zag crew and told them to get legitimate jobs if they were having a hard time paying up. We know that the Zig Zag crew sold crack for the Hells Angels and that the dues were for protection against rival drug dealers.

So what if the Throttlelockers don't sell drugs? What if they just want to ride and be affiliated? How much does that affiliation cost? When Vinnie toothless was caught with papers connecting the Hells Angels to the Jesters and the Outcasts, some argued that there was no real connection between the two groups. They were just asking permission from the Hells Angels to wear their logos.

Permission? Why does anyone need permission from the Hells Angels to wear their patch? Isn't that like giving a bully your lunch money in school? Either way it is clear the Throttlelockers are connected to the Hells Angels just like the Zig Zag crew were. Selling drugs is nothing to brag about. Neither is bragging about paying the Hells Angels for protection. That's kinda lame actually.

So what if the Throttlelockers don't sell drugs? Why on earth are they kissing Hells Angels ass? That's what looks so sad. Take away the Hells Angels and Bobby Cocks looks like a biker. Take away his Throttlelocker patch and he still looks like a biker. He has his honour and respect without having to buy it from the Hells Angels who lost it.



So what happens if the Throttlelockers stop paying dues to the Hells Angels? Will they lose their endorsement? Will the Hells Angels start hacking off fingers? The Throttlelockers can ride, camp and hang out without wearing any patch and without any permission from the Hells Angels. Groveling diminishes them.

Toronto Shopkeeper makes Citizens Arrest

Well here's another bizarre one. A Toronto Shopkeeper catches someone stealing from him and makes a citizens arrest. Simple enough. Well not exactly. The shopkeeper was charged with assault and unlawful confinement. I kid you not. This ranks right up with the joke about how if someone breaks into your home in Canada and they slip on something in the process, they can sue you for damages. You have just entered the Twilight Zone.

One media outlet reported that the concern was to make a citizen's arrest you have to catch someone in the act and the shop keeper caught the guy an hour later when he returned to the store. That's nonsense. To make a citizen's arrest you have to see the person commit the crime. If someone comes up to you and says that guy just stole my wallet, if you didn't see it, you can't make a citizen's arrest. There's no one hour golden time limit.

In Canada when you make a citizen's arrest you can only hold the person until the police arrive. You can't haul him off and drag him to the police station like you can in the US with the era of bounty hunters. That might be part of the problem. Seemingly the shopkeeper tied the guy up with rope and put him in the back of his car. I suppose this would depend on how far away the car was and if he detained the guy in the back seat of his car or his trunk.

Either way, charging this guy is insane. Can you imagine if he received a worse sentence than the person who stole from him? Wouldn't that make Canada a joke. Initially he was charged with assault with a weapon because he had box cutters in his possession but those charges were later dropped. If the guy pulled out the box cutters and started cutting him up that would be different but to say that someone at work who happens to have box cutters in his possession can't make a citizens arrest is nonsense.

Liberal MP Joe Volpe is seizing the opportunity to propose a bill that would make citizens arrest easier. Yet the law already exists and it can't get any easier than it is. You have to see the person commit the crime. You have to tell him you are making a citizen's arrest and tell him what he is being arrested for. You can then hold him until the police come not drag him anywhere.

You also have to charter him which simply means you have to say "You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay? Do you understand?" If they say no you simply explain that means when the police arrive you have the right to ask to speak with a lawyer without a long wait.

At least it's not as bad as the Alberta farmer who caught someone stealing and hunted him down with guns and shot him. Yet giving criminals more rights than law biding citizens is crazy.

Two more sad tales

Well the first one is sad as in pathetic and the other one is sad as in misguided. Take a look at the bowling shoes this guy is wearing and the full face helmet. He must be a striker for the Kingpin crew.

The other one is the sad news of two motorcyclists who lost their lives Saturday. The motorcycle was driving alongside a pickup truck, driven by a 17-year-old man, when the teen started to change lanes towards the bike.

The Mounties say the truck corrected and didn't end up changing lanes, although the 51-year-old motorcycle driver pulled up beside the pickup and glared at the teen inside. The news release says during this exchange, the motorcycle driver didn't notice a curve in the road and crashed. The motorcycle driver and his 40-year-old female passenger, who were both from Nanaimo and wearing beanie-style helmets, died later in hospital.

Here's the tragedy. Likely the kid didn't see the motorcycle in his blind spot but stopped when he did see it. So the big bad biker has to make a big deal about it and start glaring at him when he should have been watching the road and has now lost his life and the life of his passenger over it.

The whole concept of motorcycle awareness is so that cars check their blind spots and be more aware of motorcycles on the road. Yet when you have grown men center lining and passing on the right, that throws the whole concept of motorcycle safety and awareness out the window. As does this huge chip on the shoulder intimidation syndrome that cost this motorcyclist his life.

Glaring at someone and not seeing a turn in the road really isn't very bright. There was another story on Castanet in Kelowna about a woman who tapped on the horn when a Hells angel cut her off. He went ballistic glaring at her, writing her plate number and spitting on her car. That's the lingering image the public has when the Hells Angels comers to mind and it really isn't a pretty or proud one.

Hells Angels motorcycles impounded for speeding

Well this is priceless. Two Hells Angels were caught racing through a construction zone at speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour and had their bikes impounded under the new legislation. At first I thought the new legislation was a bit extreme. Getting your car impounded for going 70 KM/H in a park zone with no people around is extreme. Ticketed by all means but car impounded? I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that.

But 160 KM/H in a construction zone? Well that's a bit different. I have to chuckle to see who it is that got caught under the new legislation. Sure the bullies and murderers are going to play the pathetic victim again but the bottom line is, excessive speeding then driving like an as*shole weaving in and out of traffic on a motorcycle isn't something to be proud of.

Neither is using Hells Angels colours to intimidate others to let them break the law. That's being an irresponsible bully and an as*hole all wrapped up into one. That's how young kids on imports ride not grown men on real motorcycles. Mind you it's hard to tell what they're riding. With those big a*s fairings they look more like Goldwings than Harleys.

The Hells Angels aren't murderers? Well who killed Juel Stanton? Who killed Percy Soluk? Who supplies the cocaine for the Vancouver gang war? These b*tches are worse than snitches. What's with that pink passenger seat anyways? No wonder someone pushed the bike over in the video. Which nomad was the pink princess seat for?