3315 replies to this topic

[aastra]

 

In recent weeks, police have responded to a murder, a fatal van fire and an assault of a female Pizza Hut employee, who was punched repeatedly by two men.

 

They arrested a man who poured gasoline on an occupied tent in Cecelia Ravine Park and threatened to set it on fire with a blow torch.

 

They disarmed a man at gunpoint who had assaulted bylaw officers with a shovel. A bylaw officer’s vehicle was smashed with a sledgehammer. Police also seized a baseball bat with nails ­embedded in it at an ­encampment.

 

If the critics don't like the laid-back island lifestyle then maybe they should pack up and move. If you eliminate the violence against women, arson, and improvised weaponry then you'd also eliminate so much of what makes Victoria special.

[pontcanna]

Support our police forces

 

Re: “Officers facing more threats, says police union,” March 14.

 

https://www.timescol...icbc-1.24295389

 

For anybody who views the police force as one that does not do its job effectively, or generally views police persons as not very nice people (as expressed on the pavement of Bastion Square within recent history, for example), a helpful exercise for such a person might be to do the following:

 

1. for, say, two weeks, try out the daily work of a police person for the purpose of gaining first-hand experience of the job;

2. subsequent to this experience, consider whether you or anyone you know would be willing to take this job on;

3. consider whether the remuneration for this job is fair, compared with other jobs with similar remuneration that do not involve the same high level of stress and personal risk;

4. contemplate a society without a police force.

 

My personal opinion is that an ample and properly remunerated, publicly funded police force is an absolute necessity. These workers should be supported with gratitude by society, and given the necessary support systems they require to ensure quality, integrity, accountability and fair remuneration.

 

Providing the police force with these essential support systems will ensure an ethical and healthy police force, and will prevent corruption caused by a general sense within the force of being overworked, underpaid and unappreciated.

 

If society continues to demerit and disregard the essential and very demanding work of the police force, the result will be a lawless land.

 

Make your choice.

 

Claire Paterson, Victoria

 

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[pontcanna]

Traffic Disruptions Anticipated Downtown During Saturday Protest

March 19, 2021

Victoria, BC – Officers are anticipating traffic disruptions in downtown Victoria tomorrow during a planned protest and march.

On Saturday, March 20th a protest is planned for the area of Centennial Square. A large number of people are planning to gather for a rally, speeches, and a march downtown. This event will occur from approximately 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. There will be traffic disruptions. VicPD officers will be on site to ensure everyone’s safety.

The Public Health Officer recognizes the Charter right to peaceful assembly and is not prohibiting outdoor assemblies for the purpose of communicating on a matter of public interest, provided steps are being taken to limit the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

The best way to keep up-to-date on these events is to follow our Twitter account https://twitter.com/vicpdcanada .

[pontcanna]

Family never wanted officers waiting with mental-health patients

• Times Colonist
• 21 Mar 2021

“Don’t worry Dad. These nice security guards will be with you and stay with you.”

 

These were the last words Helen said to her father when she was asked to leave his treatment room at the Royal Jubilee Hospital emergency department in 1995.

 

Her father, a retired physician, was upset and possibly suicidal, said Helen, who has requested anonymity.

 

Helen assured her father everything would be OK. The security guards would stay with him.

 

“But they didn’t stay with him. They left him alone and he managed to hang himself with his pyjamas on the doorknob." Helen’s father suffered a severe brain injury and was left severely disabled. He never walked again. Her family launched a civil suit against the hospital and the province, and won a substantial settlement.

 

More: https://www.timescol...ents-1.24297232

 

 

[Victoria Watcher]

Halifax police have started an internal investigation after a video surfaced on social media over the weekend showing an officer saying something "unacceptable" as he appears to be pointing a weapon at a man with his hands up.

The audio on the 28-second video is poor, but at around the eight-second mark, the officer is heard saying something that sounds like, "I will fill you full of f—king lead."


https://www.cbc.ca/n...ficer-1.5967253



bad time to be a cop.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 March 2021 - 03:48 AM.

[Rob Randall]

All of us, including me, had a good laugh at the video of the two female cops taking down the guy at the Downtown Shoppers a couple weeks back. But one thing that's stayed with me is the cornered-animal look on the guy's face. He was angry, but mostly looked frightened and confused, like he was so out of his mind the animalistic fight or flight instinct took over. I don't think the security guy's jousting/wrestling act helped much.

 

I understand being a cop is stressful but when you're dealing with someone who's lost the ability to process most rational thought, yelling "I will fill you full of f—king lead." is not likely helpful..

[Mike K.]

Nope.

Someone’s watched a few too many cop dramas in between shifts.

[Victoria Watcher]

the guy was not a security guy. he was just a bystander trying to protect staff.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 March 2021 - 07:59 AM.

[kitty surprise]

All of us, including me, had a good laugh at the video of the two female cops taking down the guy at the Downtown Shoppers a couple weeks back. But one thing that's stayed with me is the cornered-animal look on the guy's face. He was angry, but mostly looked frightened and confused, like he was so out of his mind the animalistic fight or flight instinct took over. I don't think the security guy's jousting/wrestling act helped much.

 

I understand being a cop is stressful but when you're dealing with someone who's lost the ability to process most rational thought, yelling "I will fill you full of f—king lead." is not likely helpful..

 

I didn't have a good laugh when I watched the Shoppers video. I felt anxiety. Anxiety that at any moment someone experiencing animalistic instinct could put me or my family at risk of mental or physical harm.

 

I imagine there are a number of folks who would say they don't care what a person's socioeconomic or demographic situation is, but please just don't make others feel unsafe .... which I realize is a completely subjective ask, which is why the underlying root causes (and fixes) are so messy and polarizing and difficult to make progress on. 

 

As for the Halifax article, well if our Shoppers guy was not white, would it have gone down any differently?

[Mike K.]

The Halifax incident involved drugs and a loaded firearm, so the level of threat was infinitely higher.

But I do feel the police were too rough on the Shoppers guy. He was already subdued, largely. They didn’t have to launch at him torpedo-like, and how it went down could have caused a serious injury for which the taxpayer would be on the hook. But then that’s just my interpretation not knowing anything about what their training calls for for that exact situation, and their threshold for causing injury during an arrest.

[Victoria Watcher]

two females might have to use the element of surprise. they aren’t going to beat that guy in strength.

[Mike K.]

The element of serious injury, you mean?

I’ve seen less forceful takedowns of armed bandits than what the police did to this guy. That was rough, and must have really hurt.

[Victoria Watcher]

Force = speed x mass.

Or something similar.

If you are a 112 pound police officer you must hit with speed (your toroedo reference) for best outcome.

[Mike K.]

Best outcome is subjective here, I have to say.

[Rob Randall]

I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure the takedown was textbook correct. You don't know if the guy has a hidden weapon. 

 

But the bystander's action's didn't help. In a case like this you either clear out of the way, everybody, or if you do make the decision to engage, try to de-escalate and talk the guy down. He's under the influence of drug-induced paranoia or a mental breakdown. Jousting with him just made him more agitated. The look in his eyes was haunting.

[todd]

Force = speed x mass.

Or something similar.

If you are a 112 pound police officer you must hit with speed (your toroedo reference) for best outcome.

Just lunging and grabbing hold as tight as you can of the lower legs while they are in movement works pretty well. Shouldn’t matter too much what your weight is I think.


I think if I was being taken down i’d prefer a taser.

Edited by todd, 28 March 2021 - 09:41 AM.

[todd]

^ https://youtu.be/VUW71HXbXAg They’re playing the clip episode on TV right now.

Edited by todd, 28 March 2021 - 10:43 AM.

[Barrrister]

I doubt that you would prefer a taser. 

[todd]

I doubt that you would prefer a taser.

I use ems/tens machine on the highest setting sometimes. And when I was younger I used to put up the Christmas lights in the rain. Have you ever been tased?




https://youtu.be/Xp8x8LqC6uM

[pontcanna]

As far as the "fill you full of lead" comment, I was on Herald St a couple of years ago when a VicPD vehicle pulled up across the way, an officer jumped out (with a patrol carbine) and told a guy walking down the street in no uncertain terms that he would kill him if he didn't cooperate right then and there. There wasn't any resistance and I have no idea what the original call was to justify that response. So I'm not particularly surprised at the Halifax scenario. I suppose the f-bomb makes it less palatable (and in the excitement I think he fell back on cop-show memories, or even training on how to "get a grip" on a suspect).