THE WORLD'S LARGEST STREET GANG

I've seen T-shirts with the above logo on them. It refers to our municipal police forces and it's a disgrace. Not the T-shirts, the police forces. Similar to political jokes, it wouldn't be funny if there wasn't some truth to it. Yesterday's Kitchener-Waterloo Record carrys the following story: ""Discreditable" police conduct in G20 arrest". Five officers arrested and beat a man by the name of Adam nobody at the provincial legislature in June 2010. They did it because they are bullies and because they could. "The report by the Office of the Independent Police review Director names Babak Andalib-Goortani, Michael Adams, Geoffrey Fardell, David Donaldson and Oliver Simpson." Incredibly Michael Adams was already under investigation in the death of an eighteen year old man who died from "positional asphyxia" seven weeks earlier. Positional asphyxia relates to a person usually handcuffed , restrained and held immobile often face down on the ground. The non politically correct term for positional asphyxia might even include the word murder. How the hell do trained police officers "restrain" a human being to the point of asphyxiation? Five police officers beat up Adam Nobody to the point he needed reconstructive nose surgery and he had a broken cheekbone.

For the record the Special Investigations Unit (S.I.U.) as usual after investigating were unable to determine the names of any of the five police officers involved in the Nobody case. In their defence they have repeatedly and publicly stated that routinely they are denied cooperation and evidence by senior police management during their investigations. Keep in mind there was videotape of the Mr. Nobody arrest and beating.

I don't know which is more disgraceful and reprehensible: the behaviour of the individual officers involved or the coverup by senior levels of police. This behaviour reflects on and shames the entire members of a police force but it shouldn't. Perpetraters should be criminally charged and removed from duty if found guilty. Serious discipline not pretend discipline and coverups should be the order of the day. Any politicians or persons in authority at any and all levels should be removed if found promoting or condoning coverups of police misconduct. I and every citizen of this country have a right to receive professional, honest and transparent behaviour from our Police Officers and their supervisers and management. What we have is an undisciplined street gang sanctioned by our own authorities. It reeks at all levels.