Those At The Top Just Aren't Doing Their Jobs - Part 2

Continuing with the theme of my previous post, another institution whose leadership frequently fails the public that it is sworn to protect and serve is that of law enforcement. Stories abound of police abuse of their authority, and yet it seems increasingly rare to see a public accounting for that abuse.

While the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit is probably the worst example of unaccountability in recent memory, with the man the at the top, Bill Blair, accepting no responsibility for the terrible violations of citizen rights that took place, there is a plethora of other, less dramatic cases that seldom see the light of day. A recent Toronto Star investigation revealed some disturbing facts about widespread concealment of police misconduct:

A Durham cop was caught on video threatening to beat up a man and plant cocaine on him, behaviour that prompted a Superior Court judge to say the officer “committed several criminal offences in the course of his duties.”

A Toronto officer refused to help his partner arrest an off-duty cop for drinking and driving.

Seven Ontario Provincial Police constables made fake notebook entries claiming they were conducting a RIDE check to catch drunk drivers when they were really hanging out at Tim Hortons.

All of these officers were disciplined under a secretive informal process that is supposed to be used only for cases that are not of a serious nature, an ongoing Star investigation has found. Critics say this is serious misconduct that should have been aired in a public hearing.

This bizarre culture of concealment means that for the most part, the offenders' names and actions are kept from the public, and after two years of good behaviour, the misconduct must be scrubbed from the offending officer’s employment record, according to the Police Services Act, which governs policing in Ontario.

Like the officials profiled in Part 1, the people at the top have much influence over what is concealed and downplayed, thereby distorting the public's perception of both the force and those at the top of that force:

Under Ontario’s Police Services Act, a chief can choose to handle a discipline matter through informal resolution if she is of the opinion the misconduct “was not of a serious nature.”

Although these 'in-house' proceedings are meant to deal only with minor matters, the record reveals they are used to hide some pretty serious matters, with the Peel constabulary having a rather unenviable record:

In the last five years alone, 640 Peel officers — roughly 30 per cent of the force — have been sanctioned under the secretive system, some multiple times. The OPP, a force three times the size, informally disciplined almost the same number of officers over that time period.

While the police insist on the efficacy of these tribunals, the glaring and uncomfortable fact is that names and offences are kept secret, thereby obviating the crucial component of public accountability.

The Star investigation lists numerous examples of misconduct dealt with secretly, but this video of Constable James Egdon is perhaps emblematic of how serious transgressions can be swept under the rug:

In a 2015 decision, a Superior Court judge ripped into Const. Ebdon’s conduct, calling it “reprehensible.”

“The evidence establishes that Constable Ebdon committed several criminal offences in the course of his duties,” Justice Laura Bird said in her decision.

“Const. Ebdon showed a staggering lack of appreciation for the seriousness of his conduct. Perhaps that is not surprising in light of the fact that the only penalty that was imposed on him by the Durham Regional Police Service was the loss of 24 hours pay.”

Because he was disciplined informally, Ebdon’s misconduct wasn’t required to be disclosed in a court case where he testified as an officer — a fact the judge called “concerning.” Durham police will not publicly discuss Ebdon’s case.

The final word goes to Alok Mukherjee, former chair of Toronto Police Services Board.

During Mukherjee’s tenure on the police board, which provides civilian oversight the Toronto force, he said groups of officers were informally disciplined for removing their name tags during the G20 and turning off their in-car cameras — what he calls serious offences that undermine police accountability and integrity.

“My fear is that an impression is created that the discipline is not serious,” he said. “The next person who does that (misconduct) will act knowing that his matter is not serious.”

As I titled this post, those at the top just aren't doing their jobs.

For Those Who Don't Know Their Place

What do you do when citizens believe that democratic rights should be more than an illusion? Call in the authorities to remind them of their true place in the foodchain.



On a related topic, The Star's Rosie DiManno has an excoriating assessment of yet another free pass given by the SIU to the officers involved in the 'high-risk' takedown of 80-year-old Iole Pasquale, the dementia sufferer who was tasered, not once but twice, while meandering down the street in the middle of the night in late August holding a bread knife.

Says DiManno:

... as SIU head Ian Scott noted in his reasons for not laying a charge, the cops had no knowledge of Pasquale’s mental condition, although they suspected there might be synapses misfiring in the poor woman’s brain. And Pasquale was non-compliant, which is the de facto rationale just about any time an officer resorts to escalating forcefulness.

Clearly not the finest hour for either the Peel Police or the SIU, if the latter has indeed ever had one.

Your Morning Jolt

Most people get their morning jolt from their breakfast cup(s) of coffee. As I wrote earlier this week, an 80-year-old woman, now identified as Iole Pasquale and suffering from dementia, got her jolts at 3:30 a.m. from two police taserings while walking along a road in Mississauga with a bread knife.

Described in the original report as frail, police sources say Pasquale was out of control and refused to follow police orders to put down the weapon before she was Tasered.

As a consequence of the tasering, she fell down and broke her hip. Any degree of independent living is no longer an option. Paquale's daughter Angela could be described as a tad upset.

A crime wave of unprecedented proportions seems to be under way; given the cases of Sammy Yatim wielding a pen knife on a deserted streetcar, a crime for which he paid with his life, and Steve Mesic, the emotionally disturbed unarmed Hamilton man whose disrespectful turning of his back on police apparently warranted death, given that his dorsal area was the recipient of the bullets that killed him, few would dispute the dangers police confront on a daily basis.

What is to be done for our brave men and women in blue? Surely the public second-guessing that follows such highly-publicized events is deeply demoralizing to those who protect and serve us.

But undoubtedly, relief is forthcoming for our centurions. The SIU is currently investigating the Pasquale rampage and, if past practices are any indication, full exoneration of the subject officers is all but assured. The Sammy Yatim case is the likely exception. The citizen video of that killing has been widely circulated, offering a view of events that would challenge even the most elaborate and obdurate of police 'narratives.'

Nonetheless, citizens have been warned. Obey authority. Offer no resistance. Question nothing. Your well-being, even your life, may very well depend on complete compliance and passivity.

2012 - A New Year, But For Peel Police, The Malfeasance Continues

2011 was not a good year for the Peel police. Racial profiling, harassment of citizens and fabrication of evidence seemed to be the order of the day. The new year brings new dishonour to the force, this time in the form of perjury.

As reported in today's Star, members of the Peel drug squad lied in court about a beating they administered to a suspected drug dealer, Tan-Hung Dinh. Const. Ian Dann, along with constables Jason Hobson, Jay Kirkpatrick and Steve Roy, were part of a sting operation that for no apparent reason resulted in their thrashing Dinh inside of a hotel room. Dinh's lawyer, Leora Shemesh, applied to have the drug charges stayed or evidence excluded. She alleged there were numerous Charter violations during the arrest.

Having no choice but to throw out all charges except for one relating to possession of cocaine, Superior Court Justice Deena Baltman gave the following damning assessment of the officers involved:

“The police lied under oath in order to cover up (an) illegal search and persisted in their lying when confronted with the most damning of evidence. All these misdeeds were calculated, deliberate and utterly avoidable,” and then added,

“The police showed contempt not just for the basic rights of every accused but for the sanctity of a courtroom,” ... referring to four officers from the force’s drug and vice unit, who are involved in a multitude of other narcotics cases in Peel.

Despite the ordering of an internal investigation by Peel Police Chief Mike Metcalf, critics are not holding their breath that anything will change, given the failure of past investigations to yield any results. Indeed, one assumes if the force were really serious about cleaning up corruption, they would ask an independent force to investigate.

Perhaps the most damning indicator that nothing will change is that even though the judge's findings have been known to the Chief since last fall, the malefactors remain on active duty.

Peel Police: Where Racial Profiling Goes By Another Name.

And that name appears to be 'rookie mistake.' At least that is what the force is claiming in its 'apology' to Isaac Williams, a 60-year-old who emigrated from Jamaica in 1972 and who, despite having received a heart transplant, is apparently youthful enough to pass for the 20-year-old black suspect wanted for a break-and-enter. That suspect was also described as being 6 inches shorter than Williams. Despite those facts, the Peel Police, in a typical cover-its-ass institutional response, deny that any racial profiling was involved.

The full story and a video with the wronged man is available here.

Another Police Embarrassment

I really take no pleasure in reading about police who are charged with crimes. Sadly, that kind of misbehavior, which seems to be alarmingly on the increase, reflects badly on all officers, which is patently unfair. Nonetheless, it is crucial that we hold to a very high standard these guardians of our security, as any abuse of their considerable authority has quite serious implications for society. Transparency, not secrecy, is the key. If our police services want to restore and maintain our trust, they surely will have to behave better than the Peel Police did recently.

In a story that has come to light only through the doggedness of the Toronto Star, we learn that Peel tried to conceal from the public some serious allegations facing one of its members, Darrell Beck, 32, of Lisle, Ont., who was arrested at 8:48 p.m. Friday on suspicion of impaired driving and possession for the purpose of trafficking. They did everything in their power to keep the fact that he is an officer from the public. Check out the full story to learn the disturbing details.

Does This Peel Police Action Help You To Sleep Better at Night?

I stand to be corrected, but I was under the impression that in Canada, we are, at least in theory, protected from arbitrary police intrusion and arrest. Apparently the Peel Police are not aware of this legal 'quibble'.

Another Sad Story of Police Misconduct

The headline in yesterday's Globe (on-line edition) really says it all: Peel police officers fabricated evidence in prostitution case: judge

The story tells of how the two offending Peel officers claimed that a fake i.d. allowing a 17-year-old to work in Brampton sex clubs was found in her pimp's wallet. The truth is the i.d. had been turned over to the police by the girl herself. Because of this malfeasance, some very serious charges against Courtney Salmon, including human trafficking, had to be thrown out of court.

While Superior Court Judge Douglas Gray severely rebuked the officers, saying that he had to throw out the case to protect the integrity of the justice system, his words and action will be have been for naught if the offending officers are not charged and, if convicted, dismissed from the force. The erosion of public trust in the police continues unabated.