What’s most striking about this past weekend of blood and violence in Toronto—five shootings and four stabbings—is the blasé reaction from police. The National Post reported that, according to Staff Sgt. Courtney Chambers, additional police patrols are not necessary. The CBC, meanwhile, quoted Det. Sgt. Steve Ryan saying the following: “Crime waves, you know, they come and they go. This is just one of those summer weekends.” Shucks, Det. Sgt. Ryan, I’m sure Dylan Ellis, Oliver Martin and everyone else who was shot or stabbed over the weekend are sorry to learn you had a bad couple days at the office.
I realize that violent crime is part of every police officer’s job and that, to some degree, they need to take things in stride just to maintain their own sanity. But for them to treat violent crime like smog—something that happens every summer, and that no one can really do anything about—is a bit much. Meanwhile, down at city hall, city staffers are busy fixing the problem by drafting a plan to relocate two gun clubs to private property. As for the rest of us, well, there are lots of summer weekends ahead.
• Four shootings, four stabbings [National Post]• 1 dead in weekend of violence [CBC]• Councillors back down on anti-gun proposal [Toronto Star]
The homicides and woundings are as predictable as the morning sun. Keep ignoring increasing inequality and deepening poverty and even more of the same can be expected.
January 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm | by dr