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Here is proof that some police were anonymous thugs with legal authority. In this picture, a police officer kicks someone in the back while clearing out Queen's Park. Even though the area had been officially declared the 'Free Speech Zone' and protesters were acting peacefully, someone gave the order to clear the area with force.
Look at the right chest of each police officer. The two cops holding bicycles are clearly wearing identification badges, as required by law. The cop doing the kicking has removed his identification. This solitary act is clearly against the law; when a cop had no ID he is officially not a cop. As this picture shows, there is no clearer evidence that the police were the real criminals during the G20 weekend in Toronto. If the government fails to follow up on these actions they are accomplices in criminal activity and must be removed.
Update
The photo originally posted with this article belongs to the Toronto Star; I have removed it at their request. Instead, I have added a screen capture from video of the same incident. The green arrow points at a cop kicking people, the Toronto Star has a very clear picture showing the velcro strip on his shirt where the name tag has been removed. You can read the Toronto Star article here.
The cop pointed at by the yellow arrow also has no ID; as the video progresses this cop proceeds to beat seated people with a baton and then pepper spray them in the eyes.
The removal of identification by police during a volatile situation is a critical breech of trust and must be dealt with. It has been over a month since the Star article was published; we cannot just let this fade away. These activities MUST NOT become the precedent for acceptable police behavior; only persistent demand by the public will prevent these actions from being washed over.
Agreed,
ReplyDeleteBetween these images, videos of people getting shot at by police officers for no cause and trampled by police horses... they need more than to be removed in my mind.
Those guilty of crimes against the people should be made accountable to the people. This not only serves as an example, but opens new ways of dealing with difficult conditions, while allowing the public to heal.
I know several good police officers and such criminal activity casts it's shadow over them as well. Trust is a hard thing to regain, if at all. What we've seen by the authorities thus far goes against public interest. In fact, we've only seen misdirection, defiance and a resounding lack of remorse.