Anyone who might be concerned that recent events have put a strain on police solidarity can rest easy.
In an article in The Star entitled Retiring deputy chief calls G20 reaction overblown, Tony Warr, who is set to retire at month's end, has nothing but praise for the actions of police at last summer's G20 fiasco in Toronto.
A few quotations from the piece, which I am reproducing below, help to amply demonstrate not only police intransigence and misplaced loyalties, but also why the scars of that infamous weekend will likely never heal:
The public and media overreacted to events during the G20 summit, and police should hold their heads high.
“There was a lot of good work done.”
“I defy anybody to have an event like that in their city and not have that kind of problem. Ours was a pretty minor one compared to what’s gone on in other cities.”
[T]here “seems to be a campaign by the media to keep this alive.”
Warr said he doesn’t want to second-guess officers for rounding up 1,100 people in the biggest mass arrest in Canadian history.
“Some of the media reaction was just disgusting,”
Warr also made no apologies for the horrid conditions at the temporary detention centre on Eastern Ave., which was criticized for being overcrowded and having limited toilet facilities:
“People complained about the conditions there, but what did they expect when they get arrested? They’re not going to be taken to the Hilton. Jail is not a nice place,”
When such a shocking lack of empathy, understanding and insight into the seriousness of what transpired last year comes from a Deputy Police Chief, and our political 'leaders', both provincial and federal, display a similar nonchalance about egregious police wrongdoing, is it any wonder that the antipathy and suspicion of Canadians towards the police continues to fester and grow?
Canada has a real problem with its police forces and Warr shows us why we are should fear our police as much as we safeguard against the criminals out there.
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