G20 Aftermath: the Toronto Star makes the police look silly (yet again)
The Star has been like a dog with a bone when it comes to the fallout from last summer’s G20 summit, diligently following the slew of cops that walked away scot-free despite allegations of illegal assaults on protesters and passersby. Today the front page of the city’s paper of record trumpeted the latest in the long line of absurdities: when questioned by the Special Investigation Unit, not one of the 11 officers asked could identify the colleague accused of beating Dorian Barton, including the officer’s own roommate.
Quoth the Star:
The SIU asked 11 officers to identify the cop in the photograph. Eight of them were within the direct vicinity of the aggressive takedown near Queen’s Park, in which Barton, 30, suffered a broken right arm, black eye, swollen limbs and bruised back.
One of the witness officers was a G20 roommate of the officer in the photo, [SIU head Ian] Scott said.
“I don’t know if they’re telling the truth or not,” he said. “I really don’t know.”
The great thing about situations like this is that all the Star needs to do is keep pointing out how ridiculous it all looks. Today’s report makes Mike McCormack, the head of the Toronto Police Association, look especially foolish, given that just days ago he was on the CBC insisting it’s “absolutely absurd” to suggest officers conspired to protect colleagues accused of assault. If the Star and the SIU chief are right, we’re back to what is now, sadly, the default assumption for the Toronto police: that they refuse to tell investigators what they know about fellow officers accused of committing crimes.
• Witness to G20 beating was suspect officer’s roommate, SIU says [Toronto Star]
Cops and wannabe gangsters share the same “no-snitching” code. Way to set an example for Jane and Finch, constables. What’s the point of you if you have the same morals as crooks?
Uniformed thugs beating innocent people and then protecting their own by keeping their mouths shut. As an honest law abiding citizen, i will never trust police. They can beat you and get away with it. That is how it is in Canada. Police are not to be trusted.
Are there any Canadians left still naive enough to trust the police or the government standing behind them?
Apparently all too many since the Harper majority gov is the worst case scenario in a short list where the best case is still horrible.
Be wary of the police state that continues to grow thanks to the mainstream media’s willful ignorance, as well as the average Canadians’, and the unbridled corruption that runs the country our forefathers fought and died for.
I’ve always been a supporter of our police and the job they do. I have never been charged with anything or found a cause that I feel strong enough to comment on in my 50 some years living in Canada but I still can’t forgive the police and government for their behavior last year during the G20 summit. I am so proud of how the police handled the latest Vancouver incident which obviously seems common public opinion proven by the support from the public in handing over pictures to help in the investigation. The G20 riots was instigated by the police and curbed in a ruthless manner by the same. I will never trust them again and my outlook will never change. I look at them differently when I see them in the streets and although its not right to paint them all with the same brush I am finding it impossible not to.
Whenever I see “Toronto’s finest” I feel like throwing up. Kudo’s to The Toronto Star for obtaining justice through their diligent investigations. Congratulations to the police at all levels for setting such a bad example publicly. Epic fail. I have no respect for people that only work 6 months out of the year and are paid 120G ‘s of public money to do so. I have no respect for police that are sworn to protect the public that pays them and yet don’t. The elite politicians have brainwashed the police force into thinking they are special and better than everyone meanwhile they are all doing it with our money. Fire all of them. When are the police cuts going to be announced? Is the police unions extravagant 700 million dollar budget going to bankrupt the city this year or next? By the time you read this they will probably have gotten another raise. Why are police here paid 3 times the national average? You could easily chop that big fat police budget in half.