WATERLOO REGION RECORD TAKES A ROUND OUT OF THE POLICE BOARD

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys their Editorial "Police board dropped the ball". The Record are clearly and appropriately miffed that the local Police Board did their best to keep this incredible scenario quiet. These Police Boards have the power to hire and fire the Chief and his two deputies. That being said the last time they tried it back in the late 70's or 80's they had a firestorm on their hands. Chief Syd Brown was scapegoated for the sins of the local SWAT team's mishandling of the Henchmen motorcyle club raid. Chief Brown was already being undermined by his unhappy senior staff who had been overlooked for the Chief's job when the Police Board went to the Toronto force and hired their police union head, Syd Brown. They then tried to rectify that alleged mistake by too promptly firing him.

I've said it here before and it bears repeating. This Board does not and never has represented the legitimate interests of the public. With three provincial reps, three regional councillors and one alleged citizen at large, Kim Denouden, who was simply an unemployed former Mayor; the public's interests are ignored. The proof is in the pudding. The Board stated that they had no intent of sharing this problem with the public who are on the receiving end of a long list of failures by our local regional police. The Ontario Civilian Police Commission are supposed to release a report into their investigation of allegedly inappropriate comments by Ms. Denouden. We the public will be lucky to hear anything at all up to and including her replacement, if it ever comes to that.