As disconcerting as the AIDS statement from the officer was, the attempt to illegally get the phone video is more of a concern to me. Good thing that the witness taking the video knew his rights.
The incident happened two blocks from where I live in a highly diverse neighbourhood characterized by a high-needs immigrant, low income and vulnerable population: the homeless, addicts, mentally and physically challenged individuals, and the aged, who are often the victims of common street crimes. Many of us are afraid to involve the police. There are a lot of service groups and agencies, and the 3 safe injection sites are to be located in or close by. I'm more that a little concerned with the service cuts in the 2017 budget.
What first struck me in the video was the large cop standing over the man down on the road very clearly shouting "Stop resisting" after tazing the man, though the "witness" observed he was not (visibly or audibly) resisting. Then the same cop orders officers to "get that guy out of my face". I think that he was consciously framing the narrative for the video he knew was being taken.
If the police "don't know" the laws they are paid to enforce concerning the civil rights of "witnesses" and know they won't be disciplined (even eventually) for their behavior what motivation do cops have to change? How long will it take until citizens no longer need organized communities (like Pride or BLMTO) to defend them? The guy who took the video expressed his lack of faith in the complaint process. I'm looking forward to reading the Transformational Review Report to see if they saw this as part of their mandate, and what's going to happen when we get "Cop on the Beat Community Policing".
