JUST ANOTHER PUFF PIECE OR THE REAL DEAL?

Today's Waterloo Region Record carries the following story titled "Waterloo officer wants to "humanize the badge". Staff Sgt. Donna Mancuso is the regional forces very first inclusion and equity officer. The position was created by Chief Brian Larkin and is supported by police management. Based on the description of the position provided I expect that it is at least a couple of decades overdue. Ms. Mancuso will be reaching out to ethnic and religious minority groups in Waterloo Region as well as to cultural groups. She will also be working with Human Resources so that eventually police ranks will beter reflect the community they serve. Finally she will be educating police and other staff on fostering relationships within the community. All of these are worthy goals. The question in my mind is whether she will be getting no more than lip service from senior management or whether they will embrace the necessary and overdue changes and provide her with the resources and support needed to move this forward.

TWO CONFIRMATIONS OF MY APPLICATION TO DATE

Well so far so good. To date I've received one confirmation of my Application to be a member of the Police Services Board from the Regional Clerk and very recently a second one from a staff person to the Board. This I view as being professional, courteous and appropriate. Back on January 9/17 I posted here about having read a Record article describing this position being open due to the resignation of Jim Wideman. Over the years my impression of this Board and its' activities has not been very good. That said I will admit that it doesn't seem to get much coverage from the local media with the exception of the Sue Foxton alleged incident with a Regional Police Officer. My impression has long been that this Board, other than discussing the annual Police budget, really aren't all that involved. I would be interested in exploring exactly what the province has mandated in legislation is the purpose, mandate, authority and legitimate areas of concern that this Board may get involved in.

JULIAN IS RIGHT - IT'S NOT VOLUNTARY. IT"S COERCION

Today's Waterloo Region Record has an article by Liz Monteiro titled "Cellblock option for homeless should be scrapped: activist". Activist Julian Ichim has hit the nail on the head with his comments regarding temporarily housing the homeless in jail cells. The devil is in the details and those details include the door being locked, strip searches and 30 minute checkups all night long. What I see this being is the thin edge of the wedge whereby "voluntary" stays for the homeless and destitute soon turn into the Canadian version of debtors' prison. You know once the courts decriminalize marijuana use our police, courts and lawyers will suddenly have an abundance of time, space and resources. That will never do as the built in beneficiaries of the entire judicial system need to stay busy in order to keep the public money flowing. What an opportunity here for the system to avoid shrinkage and public funds flowing to less worthy (in their opinion) Ministries.

SIU INVESTIGATING MAJOR CRASH IN KITCHENER

Last Thursday's Waterloo Region Record carried the following story titled "SIU investigating after driver flees multi-vehicle crash". Normally the Special Investigations Unit is only brought in in cases of injury, death or sexual assault involving police officers. In this case it was due to serious injuries received in a six vehicle crash on Belmont Ave. that occurred while Waterloo Regional Police were chasing a speeding SUV. Multiple people were taken to local hospitals due to the severity of the crash. A pedestrian was also seriously injured in the pileup. The driver of the speeding SUV fled on foot and has not been seen since. Police are requesting assistance from the public and witnesses to the crash and fleeing driver.

PROVINCIAL NEGLIGENCE CAUSES PERMANENT INJURY

Today's Waterloo Region Record carries this story titled "Ontario liable for jailhouse attack on gang member". Once again simple common sense fails to prevail. Unless of course guards or supervisors were looking for a little "fun" or excitement. Toronto's Don jail was the scene in November 2008 when guards put a low level member of a Toronto gang into the same unit as a the leader of a rival gang. The fully to be expected, based on the reputation of the gang leader, occurred and the new prisoner received a beating causing him to spend months in hospital, more than a year in rehabilitation and left him with permanent brain damage. It only took a little over eight years for the province of Ontario to be found civilly liable in this case. Negligence plain and simple yet the province fought all the way until recently losing in the Ontario Court of Appeal. Shame on the province and the provincial correctional service.

JUST DOWN THE ROAD: MORE POLICE MISBEHAVIOUR

Literally day after day now we are hearing of police misconduct, whether alleged to date or proven. Yesterday was criminal charges laid against a Waterloo Region police officer. Today we are advised of a civil suit filed against the Guelph Police Service and several of it's members. The facts as stated in today's Waterloo Region Record are particularily egregious. Not only was their no bad behaviour on the part of the citizen/victim but in fact he has a genetic condition known as Trisomy 8 and he works part time at Torchlight and ARC Indiustries. Furthermore after allegedly assaulting the victim, police officers charged him with several criminal offences. These charges had such extreme merit that the police didn't even send them as required, along to the Crown Attorney. Unbelieveable! The victim was only advised two days prior to his September 9/16 court date that he did not need to attend. The title of the Record's article is "Guelph Police face $5M lawsuit over arrest".

The victim's lawyer has publicly stated that the initial charges against his client were "fabricated". As this is now a public matter why has the Crown's office in Guelph, much less the police themselves, not filed charges against the police officers involved? Charges could include assault as well as obstruction of justice in that it appears that they laid charges against the victim simply to intimidate him into silence.

A civil suit doesn't cut it. In fact it is precisely how police services avoid accountability and transparency. They will stall and delay, literally for years and then settle out of court with a confidentiality clause. Guess who will pay damages and costs? It sure as hell won't be a single police officer or administrator in charge of dealing with these matters. You guessed it, you and I Joe Taxpayer will pay the whole shot. What a crappy deterrent to future police misconduct when they literally can buy their way out of trouble using other people's money.

By the way the Record's on-line article this morning has been seriously shortened (censored?) in the hard copy version I picked up at my local retailer. The "censored" parts include identification of the police officers involved. Somebody maybe put a little pressure on the Waterloo Region Record folks?

AND YET AGAIN- WATERLOO REGIONAL POLICE OFFICER CHARGED

Well this no longer is even bizarre. It's now tottering on the absurd. I've been reporting here over the last five years plus, various issues, incidents, charges and more regarding primarily, although not solely, the Waterloo Regional Police. Today's Waterloo Regional Record carries this story titled "Waterloo Region police officer faces assault charges". This unnamed, to date. officer has been with the Waterloo Regional Police for seventeen years. Not exactly a rookie. The charges against him include assault, sexual assault and assault with a weapon. Dear Lord of all people under stress can we not even expect an experienced police officer to hold it together? Apparently not when we look at the long litany of nasty, stupid and criminal behaviour that our local police have indulged in over the last while. Is this a function of poor screening and hiring practices in the first place? Is this indicative of an organization that does not promote good much less legal behaviour? Is there a systemic problem with our local police or are other forces just as bad?