CFN – In this day and age of social media we become more aware of how uneven justice can be. While Justice is supposed to be blind; it also is meant to be evenly applied; but it looks like that may not be the case.
Today the CBC did a story on two people that were beaten by police to the point of having to go to hospital with one man tasered in the face. It was a mistaken raid at the wrong address.
At the end of several years they have legal bills of over $60,000 and the officer was never formally charged or fired, and still has his job.
Officer broke the law
One of the officers, Const. Jordan Gilbert, was later sanctioned for illegal entry and assault, after a decision by a police complaint review board. But he was never criminally charged and he kept his job.
The Bishops, who had never been in trouble with the law before, said they are left with $66,000 in legal costs, which the municipality refuses to cover.
“They came into the house without a warrant. They came into the house with absolutely no right to. And we are left to pay for that,” said Cirbie Bishop, an insurance claims representative.
When the officers got no answer at the front door, they entered anyway, then went upstairs and pounded on the bedroom door, ordering anyone who didn’t live there to leave.
“They were just screaming and yelling and swearing and forcing people out of the house,” Cirbie Bishop said, as everyone scrambled. “We had no idea we were there doing anything wrong. We just had a private party.”
The officer eventually was suspended for two weeks and fined $1000.00 while one of the victims lost their job.
More disturbing is the abuse and secrecy involving Crown Attorney’s. Complaints are rarely if ever made public.
In a piece about a Crown that was convicted, John Raftery, LINK what was most disturbing to this writer was the following paragraph.
Law society spokesperson Roy Thomas said all complaints are investigated, but only those allegations that result in a disciplinary hearing are reported publicly. Any complaints that are dismissed or resolved internally are kept secret.
Several lawyers said many complaints against Crown attorneys lodged with the law society are dealt with internally, meaning the public less frequently hears about them.
Police and Crown Attorney’s essentially get to play God with the Public. They choose to press a complaint within their discretion. For example we had a case where a local City Councilor attempted to destroy protest signs at a Council meeting. Those signs were damaged and hidden in the mayor’s office for nearly a week before being returned.
In spite of multiple witnesses police and the local Crown declined to pursue a charge. The other side of the knife is that cases can be pursued and sometimes for less than criminal reasons.
Here in Ontario many law enforcement agencies are quick to publish unconvicted crimes in police blotters including names which can impact people’s lives. The threshold is set purely by the officers and Crown Attorneys, and can lead to thousands of dollars in legal bills and life devastation.
There was a case in Cornwall where a senior, a few weeks away from having open heart surgery, was being physically assaulted by his younger spouse while the couple were preparing dinner. He called police frantically for assistance; but when police arrived he ended up being charged.
Not only that he could not return to his home except with police escort to get his personal belongings. He essentially was couch surfing with relatives during his surgery and recovery not knowing the outcome and having spend eventually over $10,000 in legal bills.
After several months the truth wheedled its way through the system, but at what cost to the victim and of what cost to the public purse?
It’s nearly impossible to get a crown attorney fired or reprimanded. Many judges are political appointees as well. The only remedies for the average citizen are costly and brutally time consuming with resolution taking years while the damage continues. For the few that are compensated financially the life damage can never be repaired.
The public trust in our police and justice system is critical for it to properly function. There are unbelievable challenges for officers and attorneys in their practice and sadly the few cases the shine darkly hurt the whole system which is why it’s so important for them to proactively police their own behaviors and work with the public to censure those that cross the lines.
Is that justice?
Do you have a horror story with the justice system; especially here in Eastern Ontario? Email yours to info@cornwallfreenews.com.
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Why don’t we take the case of young 18 year old Sammy Yatim who came from Syria and living in Toronto and his parents were living apart – a lady doctor in Aleppo Syria and husband and kids in TO. The son had issues of some sort and took out a 3 inch knife on a tramway and threatened passengers and driver and everyone left the bus. Nobody was hurt or killed in that incident and the cops could have done differently to apprehend the young man but instead decided to fire 9 bullets into the young man’s body and then tasered him and they didn’t get into trouble and kept their jobs. The law is crooked and no justice and I will continue to use the term “JUST US”. You can see what goes on in tiny Cornwall and the system is mighty corrupt. The same is true with a Polish man from B.C. who couldn’t speak English and was frantic about where his mother was and threw chairs at a glass and the RCMP tasered him until death. Cops do not know how to handle the public at all whatsoever. I guess all they know is to shoot a puck on the ice and do their dirty deeds (I know enough of it and want no part with cops at any level). When you know the truth and your eyes and ears are wide open you want nothing to do with the system. The same is true with lawyers, judges and the entire levels of government.
I remember back on the Lets get Perry Dunlop days where he was being harassed even by other officers who later left the force for OPP & I,m sure other towns,I remember about 25 or so leaving,hence presence force still in diapers, I remember another female officer hung out to dry & I think left the force after receiving sex tapes from a certain crown attorney,s desk that had committed suicide in FL ,when he thought that his goose was cooked “somehow” these proof videos went missing & were never seen again.A few others committed suicide as well
Jamie I just read the article on yahoo when I came back to the computer and I didn’t click your link but saw it and I can tell you that this goes on in the US pretty well on a daily basis. Cops don’t protect the people at all but they cause terrible harm to others and get away with it all. Many cops are former soldiers who have come back from war torn countries and take it out on the people. There is a great deal for the public to learn and folks open your eyes and ears and read and you will educate yourselves in what is going on.
There is no justice system unless you have money
For all else there is a legal system.
Police run rampant and are seldom if ever charged for wrong doing.
If approached by the police it is better to lay down and spread eagle yourself – and even then you are at risk.
You are totally on the money Laughingatyou.Couldn,t of said it better.
I sure do remember about those 26 cops of the Barney Fife PD who left Cornwall and I sent the article to Jamie. I sure do agree that those with the money get off a great deal easier than the rest of us and there is no justice only JUST US. Cornwall is a very evil place to live and not fit to go back to at all. Perry Dunlop and his family suffered through so much and didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. Jamie will find out as he goes along just how evil things are and so will others as well.
Read “Sylvia’s Site” regarding the story of Father Jose Silva and how the Crown from Hamilton allowed and abetted in Fr. Silva’s escape from justice here in Canada by allowing him to flee the country by returning his passport to him.
I also TRIED to lay obstruction of justice charges against 2 sitting judges and the district head of Crowns for eastern Ontario. The case was investigated by the RCMP to no avail. Further details can be forwarded.
John MacDonald
THE PROLOGUE:
Whether there is a systemic problem in the Cornwall Police Service I can’t say, but two officers (one a constable and the other a staff sergeant) seemed too comfortable with the behaviour I describe below.
THE NARRATIVE:
In the spring of 2014, while checking on a public safety hazard, I was approached by unidentified persons upset at my activity, but at no time did any person ask me to leave. After checking out the unsafe condition to my satisfaction, I left the area.
On my way to make a phone call to report the danger to the Ministry of Labour, I was stopped on Pitt Street by a police officer. The officer asked if I had identification and I said “Yes”. He did not ask me to present it, and I did not offer. I asked the officer’s name and he responded, “I’m a police officer, obviously. Look at the car!”, and he gestured to his vehicle – it is reasonable to expect an officer to identify himself on first request as is required.
I gave the officer my name (he later-on provided his), and after accepting that I had properly identified myself, he informed me that I was being, or had been, “trespassed” and I couldn’t go back on Cornwall Square property – I did not understand the jargon.
I made it quite clear that I did not understand this “trespassed” term, and asked if I would be getting a ticket, or something in writing to clarify the matter. The officer said I wasn’t getting a ticket and he wasn’t giving me anything in writing. The term “trespassed” isn’t used or described in any legal document, and seems generally unknown to the public – one would expect a police officer to consider this.
When asked if I was being detained, he responded, “Did I say you were being detained?” He responded similarly when asked again. However, when a second officer joined us and I asked a third time (prompting the officer that the answer was either yes or no), he answered “No” – one expects a clear answer to the question of “detention”; a key term in the Canadian Charter of Rights.
Not being obliged to remain with the officer, I left the area and presented myself at the Cornwall Police Service headquarters, to speak with the duty officer about what had transpired.
The duty officer was dismissive of my experience with the constable on Pitt Street, and with my confusion about being “trespassed”. He referred repeatedly to “semantics”, and boasted (without any provocation) that he was very well educated, and then with a patronizing remark or two added that I had been “violent”, and that I was banned “forever” from the Cornwall Square.
At this time we were interrupted by a civilian employee delivering a message to the duty officer. As the employee was leaving the interview room and closing the door, I asked that it be left open – sensing that the duty officer had been trying to provoke me and stage an incident. The officer did not want it open, but I insisted – at this point, the officer ended the meeting with the comment that I had “a mental issue”.
THE EPILOGUE:
I tend to believe that this provocative behaviour is a police tactic to create an argument or physical altercation in order to make an arrest, lay charges, and discredit anyone that doesn’t accept their unprofessional actions.
I believe that most officers and members of the CPS do a good job. I think the problem comes from interference from above (and you can interpret that any way you want) .
Miss Demeanor: I think I know what happened to you at the Square. The Square is private property. Someone from the management team probably saw you snooping around and decided they didn’t like that. They called the police and thus the “trespassing” issue. Years ago I worked as a security guard and we used to issue warnings to people that if their activity continued they would be charged with trespassing.
How about the local Collin Fitzgerald case where he has been accused but never formally charged of arson and breach of conditions. He and his family have all been victims and harassed by our justice system. If Collin had money to pay a lawyer he would be home with his family and visiting his daughter instead of being barred from his home and sent away from his accusers.
When are you people going to learn that many police officers think their above the law.Been like this forever.When police are even close to being proven wrong they will LIE to protect themselfs or fellow officers.But the biggest problem is that the justice system has to protect there police at any cost.
Your article is in error. John Raftery the provincial crown was charged with criminal harassment of two young ladies. At that point the police believed there was suffient evidence and reason and credibility of the women to swear the charges. So did the Justice of the Peace who endorsed the charges. Subsequently another provincial crown believed that a successful prosecution could not be obtained. This can be for a myriad of reasons including witness issues/credibility/availability, sensitivity of evidence, public interest, resource availability etc. It does not necessarily exonerate John Raftery. It simply means no pursuit. In light of the investigation by the Toronto Star, John Raftery, appears to have a history of behavioral issues that were swept under the rug. If so, then this is appalling as he has crossed over to private practice instead of being disbarred.
Jamie, I could tell you stories about a longtime crown attorney that would make your hair curl. The simple fact is that it’s way too dangerous for anyone to say he is anything other than a saint. As for police misbehavior, I think there is shift happening within the forces regarding the tolerance of rogue officers. Now that just about everybody is carrying a video recording device, they take a big chance by misbehaving in public. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s getting better.
Furtz…..I agree. I hope there is shift happening within the forces regarding the tolerance of rogue officer. I’ll take that further and hope that people that think they are untouchable realize they are NOT untouchable due to cell phone, etc. video. Enough of clique mentality running rampant everywhere. If you think the “clique” is unique to Cornwall this is a wake-up call for you, it isn’t unique to Cornwall.
Jamie here is something for you to read. I bookmarked it and will continue reading. I go by the title and it is all Norman Glaude’s Inquiry.
In The Matter of the Cornwall Public Inquiry The Honourable G. Normand Glaude, Commissioner
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries-cornwall
There is more to that http and I usually read it wrong but go by the title through google and you will get it. I fell on it by accident and I will be continuing to read it.
Happy New Year Jamie.