In part 1, I pointed out that increasingly, the police have been given two goals which are not always congruent: that of ‘maintaining public order’ and of ‘upholding the laws’. And, increasingly (in ‘the West’), the police have been choosing to ‘maintain public peace’ – even at times breaking laws themselves in the process, instead of upholding them.
This has become very clear during the G8/G20 circus downtown Toronto.
Not only were the police given extraordinary powers to ‘maintain public order’ within the designated, fenced-off area, they had usurped even greater powers for themselves. I use the term ‘usurped’ advisedly, because that is what they did. The police chief admitted he had intentionally lied about what the powers police had been granted were.
Bill Blair’s justification of the lie is telling: ‘I was trying to keep the criminals out.’
It would appear that in this Police Chief’s view, all the people on the streets of Toronto were to be treated like criminals, until proven otherwise – may be! Perhaps Chief Blair thought that he was on a crusade: ‘Arrest them all – God will know his own!’ The police officers under Blair’s command certainly appeared to behave as if they took this adage to their hearts, as they often exercised powers never lawfully granted them – even going well past the police chief’s unlawful claims. (I will return to this later)
Following the ‘event’, the police continued to lie to the public!
The reason for this seems clear: the evidence of police misconduct had been published and publicized, so the police attempted to magnify the ‘perceived threat’ in order to justify their conduct. By displaying ‘confiscated weapons’ (some of which were toys – taken from a gamer who made them safe for kids to play with) and lying about what they were and where/how they were ‘confiscated’, the police hoped to portray the ‘protesters’ as a bunch of lawless anarchist thugs who were a threat to every decent human being. Once this effort succeeded (as it mostly did), they could then dismiss any person who criticized their conduct by tarring her/him with the same brush.
That is a dangerous precedent!
First of all, it is not safe for anyone – law breaker as well as each and every law abiding citizen – to live in a society where the police arbitrarily usurp powers onto themselves and use threats, intimidation, arrests and, yes, violence, while exercising these usurped powers!
Whatever you think about the G8/G20 Toronto thing, just think about the implications of that!
We would live in a society where police are permitted to make the rules ‘on the go’ – and get rid of (through intimidation or arrest) anyone whom they perceive as challenging them…
If you think this is impossible in Canada (or another Western democracy), think again: a few years ago, a study of downtown Vancouver policing practices documented searches, intimidation and various forms of detention of individuals on the fringes of society (least credible victims…) took place without any official records of the events – without these records, no effective legal action could be taken against the police officers.
Yes, the police were in a difficult situation. Still…
While the evidence is very circumstantial, the police behaviour captured on video does suggest that at least some of the ‘violent protesters’ were indeed agent provocateurs – a tool which the police in Canada are known to have employed in past protests. (It evens appears that, prior to the G20, a Toronto Police representative was asked directly whether the police will be using agent provocateurs – only to be told that they are unwilling to reveal that type of information.)
I do not wish to get hung up on this agent provocateur thing. The charges that the police utilized them have been made – along with claims that the worst of the violence and destruction was not committed by the protesters, but rather by the police agents themselves. While I have seen some circumstantial evidence that lends credence to these claims, I am not yet convinced either way.
Why do I even raise the issue?
The police are in a unique position in our society. In order to do their job – and do it right – they need people to trust them. This trust is not a trivial thing – it must be earned, over and over. Yet, having seen so many videos of police misconduct, having read so many reports of it, I fear this trust has been seriously compromised.
Do I believe all the charges against the police?
No, I don’t. A few fake videos, perhaps. A few trumped up charges – I’m willing to entertain that they are not as accurate as the ‘victims’ claim.
But some of the charges of misconduct come from sources I consider reputable (I know some of these people personally and they have earned my trust through their past behaviour).
Yet, I would like to give the police the benefit of the doubt. And… had the police not been caught in so many lies, it would be easier to believe them…
Even if we completely set aside the issue of the agent provocateurs, there are serious problems with the police failing to enforce the law! There are numerous videos (including some I linked above) where the police witness violent or destructive behaviour by specific individuals – yet do nothing to stop it by arresting, or even interrupting, the law-breakers!
That is not right. It is abdication of their duty at best – actively aiding the law-breakers at worst.
Even if there had not been an ‘over-reaction’ by the police on the Sunday and Monday (the arbitrary-seeming arrests of close to a thousand innocent people as well as all the other reported abuses of their powers), the police behaviour on Saturday, their failure to act and to apply the laws (which, according to some sources, came as ‘an order from above’) would be sufficient to shake the public trust in the police.
Sorry – I truly am sorry that this is so – but that is the truth!
Oh – and as for labeling all the protesters as violent anarchists, who break the laws and have no respect for private property or the businesses along the protest route: watch this and weep! Not all protesters condoned lawless behaviour. Some protested, hoping to talk sense into the violent thugs in their midst. Others, like this guy, did more to stop lawless behaviour than the police did!
(Continued in ‘Part 3’)
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 