While the presumption of innocence is fundamental to our justice system, common sense and public sensibilities are always unspoken elements of the equation. This is clearly seen, for example, in jury selection, a good part of which is designed to ferret out and exclude from participation those with prejudgments that
Continue readingTag: toronto police chief bill blair
Politics and its Discontents: Another Indictment Of Police Leadership
Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I am a regular critic of the police. While recognizing the at-times difficult job they have and the very real potential of becoming jaded because of the criminal element with which they must deal, I have never had any sympathy, understanding or
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Chief Bill Blair And Secrecy
Presiding as he does over a very troubled organization, it is perhaps not surprising that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair prefers a cloak of secrecy to cover how he manages his force. But it is difficult to see whose interests, other than those of the good chief, are served by
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Police Torturers And Their Enablers
It is heartening to know that the Hamilton police are discharging their duties responsibly, as attested to by a video that went viral this week. However, to believe that all is well in policeland would be but a comforting illusion. Yesterday, Kev reported on the ‘excesses’ of some Toronto police
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Long Road To Justice
Although long, the road to criminal justice for Adam Nobody has finally ended; the police officer who viciously assaulted him during the infamous Toronto 2010 G20 weekend, Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani, was found guilty of using excessive force. Of the myriad who violated the rights of over 1100 people that weekend,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Problem With The Police Starts At The Top
Leadership is a word that evokes many associations; strength, vision, determination and resolve are a few of the positive ones. Selfishness, careerism, expediency and cowardice are but a few of many negative associations. In my own working life, I had perhaps three administrators I looked up to, the ones who
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Wheels of G20 Justice Move Very Slowly
Although I have written countless posts about the abrogation of charter rights and myriad instances of police brutality that occured in Toronto during the infamous G20 weekend in 2010, the story never seems to be over. This past week saw one officer acquitted in the assault of Dorian Barton; Glenn
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Insular World Of The Police Mentality
I have written several posts in this blog about institutions and their many shortcomings, shortcomings that seem directly proportional to their age. The longer one exists, the more prone an organization seems to becoming increasingly insular, self-referential, and self-reverential. One of the institutions most frequently targeted here is law enforcement.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: It Certainly Took Him Long Enough
His Mad Face? Seasoned cynic that I am, I can’t help but think that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair’s denunciation of police misbehaviour is little more than a public relations exercise. Almost three years after the G20 debacle, in which over 1000 people were arrested and a mere handful of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: SIU Versus Toronto Police: An Update
As noted the other day, there has been an ongoing jurisdictional battle in the case of alleged police brutality victim Tyrone Phillips. The complaint, filed by Phillips to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, could not be investigated by the SIU because Toronto Police, citing provincial regulations, refused
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Toronto Police: Again and Again and Again ….
Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By that standard, perhaps both the Toronto Police force and I are insane; I seem to periodically write essentially the same blog post about their misbehaviour, and they seem to keep practising
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Fluidity Of Our Charter Rights
Judging by both past events and current practices, I think it is safe to say that neither Premier Dalton McGuinty nor Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, along with his underlings, have a great deal of respect for Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. First, of course, there are the well-documented
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Two ‘Politicians’ Speak
Now frequently the new last refuge of the scoundrel, the passive voice is very popular with politicians far and wide, even if they don’t hold elected office. In response to a comprehensive report by retired judge John Morden on the police brutality and abuses of Charter Rights committed during the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Enablers Of The G20 Abuses: The Police Services Board
The following is a brief excerpt from a comprehensive report by retired judge John Morden on the police brutality and abuses of Charter Rights committed during the June 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto. In it, he addresses the failure of the Toronto Police Services Board, headed by Alok Mukherjee: “The
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Chief Bill Blair Dodges Another Bullet
The Toronto Star reports the following: The province’s police complaints watchdog has recommended 31 officers be charged with misconduct during the G20 summit, two of them in senior positions, Toronto police said Wednesday. The good chief must be wearing his kevlar vest 24/7, judging by his apparent immunity from any
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Star Reader’s Thoughts On G20 Justice
As a reader of various progressive bloggers, I know that the thirst for justice and accountability burns strongly in Canada. The only problem, of course, is that this passion seems singularly absent in those who occupy positions of authority, be they our elected ‘representatives’, heads of various organizations, and, of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: He’s Just Another Politician
Despite the ongoing and very critical coverage of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and his myriad leadership failures at the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto, the truculent top cop refuses to both apologize and resign. The most withering criticism I can think to make is that Blair is just another
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Deny, Deny. Deny
In the strange parallel world inhabited by Toronto Police chief Bill Blair, that seems to be the rule governing administrative oversight. When confronted with an authoritative and damning report on the behaviour of your officers, both frontline and senior, attempt to deal with its implications by refusing to apologize for
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Stating The Obvious
While this report from The Office of the Independent Police Review may afford some satisfaction for confirming the obvious, the fact that there were no consequences to the police and Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair for being key parts of this orchestrated violation of our Charter Rights renders it pretty
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Police Chief Bill Blair Well-Rebuked
Oh, there is much in the news today to report and comment on, but I’ll start with something close to my heart: Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, whom I regard as an unindicted co-conspirator in the police violence that erupted during peaceful protests at the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto.
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