68 replies to this topic

[JohnN]

Suspected vandal of mayor’s house arrested
http://www.bclocalne.../107093963.html

[Sparky]

^ If this email genius is in fact found guilty, I wonder what sort of punishment he will receive? My guess is a conditional sentence with no time served incarcerated. Let's see what happens.

Any bets?

I would be interested in reading what others think an appropriate punishment for a crime like this might be.

[Baro]

Such hard work by the police. Wonder if they'd even bother if it wasn't the mayor. So much property crime in the city gets little more than a shrug from the police.

[mysage]

Such hard work by the police. Wonder if they'd even bother if it wasn't the mayor. So much property crime in the city gets little more than a shrug from the police.

Hard work? I doubt it- they just followed the email trail from this rocket scientist.

[Rob Randall]

Such hard work by the police. Wonder if they'd even bother if it wasn't the mayor. So much property crime in the city gets little more than a shrug from the police.

I'm getting sick of people shrugging this off as yet another case of petty vandalism. This was no common graffiti tag. This was accompanied by an message to the victim saying they will "f*** you up". Are you seriously saying it's not a big deal if someone threatened to disrupt your life and spraybombed your house while your wife and two pre-teen daughters slept inside?

I wonder if people would be so cavalier if the victim was an abortion doctor, a human rights activist or a Holocaust victims advocate.

[Baro]

Sorry, I can't help but make digs at the police due to a huge anti-police chip on my shoulder. Yeah, the threatening email would have gotten the same police service for anyone (I hope)

[YOYO]

Sorry, I can't help but make digs at the police due to a huge anti-police chip on my shoulder. Yeah, the threatening email would have gotten the same police service for anyone (I hope)

Don't apologize Baro, You are a 100% correct. All the police do is protect the establishment and don't give a rat's ass about the general public. Every time there is a protest the police come dressed up in militarized gear to beat the people. Some police even drees up as protesters to start violence to give the police a reason to beat on innocent people.

[VicHockeyFan]

Hard work? I doubt it- they just followed the email trail from this rocket scientist.

It would be a bit difficult if they had to contact Gmail etc. or Hotmail to try to nail it all down.

[Rob Randall]

Yeah, the threatening email would have gotten the same police service for anyone (I hope)

I hope so too, but what if it didn't? Are we seriously suggesting we say to the police, "hey, don't put any extra effort into the investigation. Gotta keep things fair!"

[Jason-L]

Are we seriously suggesting we say to the police, "hey, don't put any extra effort into the investigation. Gotta keep things fair!"

I think the suggestion is instead that the police should put some effort into investigating vandalism and property crimes against people who aren't the Mayor. Instead of the more usual filing of a report and suggesting you contact your insurance?

[Sparky]

I think the suggestion is instead that the police should put some effort into investigating vandalism and property crimes against people who aren't the Mayor. Instead of the more usual filing of a report and suggesting you contact your insurance?

I disagree......having said that, I have recently been the victim of crime.

Every crime should be investigated.

Social crimes against a public official are unacceptable in my Canada

What is your alternative?.....call your insurance agent?

[Bingo]

the police should put some effort into investigating vandalism and property crimes against people who aren't the Mayor.

Who's to say that other crimes aren't investigated. Unless you are of recognition status in the community it isn't as likely to be picked up by the media. Personally, I wouldn't want the news that my home had been vandalized given any more attention.

[JohnN]

"Man held in attack on mayor's house, car"

Police arrest 'quiet' Victoria tenant after raid on anarchist bookstore

Katie Derosa,
Times Colonist
November 11, 2010

Victoria police have arrested a man in connection with the vandalizing of Mayor Dean Fortin's house and car, and the sending of a threatening email.

Police swarmed a Victoria basement suite early yesterday morning and arrested a 37-year-old man, Const. Mike Massine said. A woman who answered the door at the tidy, two-storey house declined to give her name but described her tenant as "quiet" and a "good neighbour." She said he has lived there for the past year.

Police believe the man sent the email claiming responsibility for spray- painting Fortin's home and smashing his car window on Nov. 5. In the email, the self-described militants said: "You wanna keep kicking the **** out of us, so we're gonna fight back and **** you up." Those threats appeared to refer to Fortin.

Go to link below to read rest of news story:

http://www2.canada.c...e40ec2d75<br />

[Baro]

What do people who do stuff like this THINK is going to happen? If you're going to protest or do something illegal, why not do something clever? Why not do something that actually gets you sympathy or admiration. Stuff like this is so stupid and damaging to the cause it claims to support it almost lends credence to "must be a police set up!" conspiracy theories.

Do something a little more creative like climb up on city hall or a building late at night and hang a big banner about your cause, but make sure it's well written and not full of hyperbole that causes one's eyes to attempt a 360 degree roll.

If you're so uncreative as to resort to property crime, make sure the only victim is your target, don't drag family and children into it.

Camosun needs to offer a night course on protesting and civil disobedience, because a lot of people are really doing it wrong.

[JohnN]

Baro:

The vandal-guy could have done more damage if he had really chosen to use some of the anarchist-vandalism techniques that are linked to Camas' Burning Fort Distro webpage.
As it is, UVic's law students have put together publications such as the Civil Disobedience Handbook to help resisters know their rights. UVic's VIPIRG offers access and links to "Anarchism in Action", and several types of seminars and workshops on how to challenge authority, and there are also summer activist camps, etc.

Contrary to most opinion expressed so far, the action of vandalizing Fortin's property might actually have been productive for increasing the salience of homeless issues, because it allows Fortin-and-friends to appear like moderates with whom conservatives can negotiate homeless benefits that do not upset the business community, nor ratepayers groups. While it might turn off a few of "helping" the homeless, vandalism (radical action) may shift the debate so that Fortin's position is seen as more moderate. If you don't follow Fortin's prescription, look who will be waiting in the shadows to make your life miserable!

In effect, Fortin's position could be as a "buffer" that might tend to isolate radicals and reduce their impact. Not necessarily a binary option, but could be a range of political activism, such as environmental actions, from the Earth First! radicals, through the Green Peace activists, and towards the Sierra Club conservative environmentalists.

[sebberry]

They let him go without charges:

http://www.timescolo...3125/story.html

[Fresca]

I'm not surprised the arrested man is being described as 'quiet'. In this community there's a lot of behind the scenes work being done by people who are rarely ever seen at protests, etc. The organizers hide and prepare in the shadows, then send out their goons to do the dirty work.

[VicHockeyFan]

They let him go without charges:

http://www.timescolo...3125/story.html

Good thing they did not release his name prematurely.

[JohnN]

Pretty sure that the militant anarchists of Camas collective are smart enough to bury any trail of evidence. However, they're aware now that the police intelligence unit has got a better idea of whats on their computer hard-drive, and more info on the one arrest made and four detained.

The arrested man has been released without charge so we assume that there was insufficient evidence to bring a charge, and even less evidence against the four detained without arrest. Could be a police strategy to let the five and their collective comrades have a bit of time to talk amongst themselves and with others.

Ball is back in the court of the vandals to followup on their threat: "You wanna keep kicking the f___ out of us, so we're gonna fight back and f___ you up."

[Hotel Mike]

What some people seem to gloss over is the fundamental slap in the face of democracy that this act of vandalism represents. A publicly elected individual has the right to conduct himself in the course of doing his duties in any way he sees fit. It's fair game to oppose that person politically. But that person's home and family are completely separate and must be protected.

These idiots aren't striking against authority when they vandalize the mayor's home. They're striking at the very system that lets these selfish, thoughtless thugs go about their business in a free society.