Cops above the law

[js97]

Unbelievable ! Cop escapes jail and given 2 years probation for a hit-and-run manslaughter

Hit and run manslaughter generally will not get you jail time if you have a clean record and good references.... cop or no cop.

what is your point?

I bet you're the type that will resort to calling the police as a FIRST resort... noice complaints, fender benders...etc.

 

[doug]

That hockey player that was charged with drinking and driving and manslaughther didn't serve anytime either.

...and that cop who hit the pedestrian at Queen and carlaw was also drunk...fled the scene and then tried to hide the evidence....


What's your point?

 

[drone]

point is,cops are people,like anyone else,they will try and have the best outcome for their case wheheter or not they are guilty . Holding a cop tthe same standards as civilians in every case is ridiculous as they are involved in with so many people whom are aggressive.....by the law of averages,at some point they will make a mistake. Take the case of the mentally challenged man, if it were a civilian facing him whom also had a two inch pocket knife,and said civilian slashed Mr.Minty and he died.Then the civilian would be let off as one is allowed to use euqal force to protect oneself in any case of violence. I certainly don't think the cop was justified in shooting him in the chest,but, if he would've shot him in the leg,that would have been appropriate,buit, he could of hit a femoral attery and killed him just the same. If we are to hold all police to such strict standards in protecting themselves and the community, you'd would for sure see an increase in violence. Cops must be able to be seen as having a difficult role and at times,it ends up with bad results. If you charged cops everytime the messed up,guess what,how many cops do you'd think we'd have?

 

[Peepers]

Cop shoots dead a 29-year-old schizophrenic "armed" with flat iron screwdriver

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/886121--police-kill-oshawa-man-holding-screwdriver?bn=1

He was confronted by THREE armed officers wearing Kevlar vests and their only option was to use deadly force? I wonder if these cops are cowards or thrill killers?

Of course they were completely cleared by the "Independent" SIU.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

I look forward to reading your excuses for all the other articles posted.

Not making excuses for anyone. Why the officer decided that 5 bullets were needed to stop the man should be answered just as much as the questions that I asked. I just feel that this was a little one sided, perhaps the star felt that's what is needed given the one sided story discovered by the SIU.

 

[ShonTron]

I'm glad that the Star is reporting on this. It doesn't say that most police officers are bad, not at all. There's a problem with the SIU and many internal affairs offices at police departments that cops making mistakes aren't being brought to account.

There are some cases where even I have sympathy for the subject officer, particularly that early story about the Saugeen Shores policewoman who was likely ill-prepared for the confrontation that resulted with the civilian killed. However I have no sympathy whatsoever for the cop that killed the woman at Sheppard and Progress - and it is clear that there was too little accountability.

If we improve police accountability and responsibility, everyone wins, apart from that minority in the police who joined the police for the wrong reasons.

 

[doady]

I'm glad that the Star is reporting on this. It doesn't say that most police officers are bad, not at all. There's a problem with the SIU and many internal affairs offices at police departments that cops making mistakes aren't being brought to account.

There are some cases where even I have sympathy for the subject officer, particularly that early story about the Saugeen Shores policewoman who was likely ill-prepared for the confrontation that resulted with the civilian killed. However I have no sympathy whatsoever for the cop that killed the woman at Sheppard and Progress - and it is clear that there was too little accountability.

If we improve police accountability and responsibility, everyone wins, apart from that minority in the police who joined the police for the wrong reasons.

The reason these "minority" of cops aren't being brought to justice is because the other cops support them. The poice organization as a whole defend these cops and try to cover up their wrong doing, so the bad police are the majority, not the minority.

 

[archanfel]

The reason these "minority" of cops aren't being brought to justice is because the other cops support them. The poice organization as a whole defend these cops and try to cover up their wrong doing, so the bad police are the majority, not the minority.

So don't call the police next time you are in trouble, easy.

This thread is getting pretty pointless. Even if you were right, what are you going to do about it? Nothing. If you truly believe that the police is totally corrupted, the SIU is with them, the prosecutors are on their payrolls, the judges are their friends, the politicians offer them protections, then you must have lost all hope in our justice system and political system. Unless you plan to overthrow the government via an armed revolution, there's really not much you could do. Especially since the vast majority of the people do not share you view.

I will continue to rely on the police for my safety if you don't mind.

 

[JLankford]

I believe there are plenty of good cops, that are out there trying to do the right thing. But I believe there some corrupts one, who exploit their power. It's just sad that even though they're heavily covered, and scrutinized, they're rarely punished as a common civilian would be.

 

[archanfel]

I believe there are plenty of good cops, that are out there trying to do the right thing. But I believe there some corrupts one, who exploit their power. It's just sad that even though they're heavily covered, and scrutinized, they're rarely punished as a common civilian would be.

While I agree with you that there may be some corrupted cops, I don't see any in this thread. We haven't seen any that takes money or grants favours to families or shields organized crimes. Even if all the allegations were true, unless the cops enjoy killing or beating people up, these are mistakes rather than deliberate exploitation of power.

It's unrealistic to treat cops strictly as common civilians. A common civilian will generally avoid car thieves, or people holding knives or screwdriver, whereas cops have to confront them. A common civilian also don't have to consider fellow citizen's lives whereas cops' first priority is to protect the innocent bystanders.

Again, I am not saying the cops should be exempted from the law. However, the definition of "reasonable" for cops is different from civilians. Common law is always based on being "reasonable", so the justice system has to act accordingly. Can it be improved? Probably. Do we live in a police state? Absolutely not.

 

[Peepers]

The FINAL INSULT!

Police seek cash from shooting victim’s families


http://www.thestar.com/news/article/888355--police-seek-cash-from-shooting-victim-s-families?bn=1

 

[archanfel]

The FINAL INSULT!

Police seek cash from shooting victim’s families


http://www.thestar.com/news/article/888355--police-seek-cash-from-shooting-victim-s-families?bn=1

"The dispute relates to a legal action launched by the two families after the shooting. "

This is getting ridiculous. The police is ultimately paid by the taxpayers. So you want taxpayers to foot the bill for every single lawsuits against police? You roll your dice by suing the police (or anybody), you lose, you pay.

I really hope this is the FINAL INSULT, because it's getting really boring.

 

[tkip]

My two cents on this topic is that most cops are decent people but you always have corrupt individuals. This is true for any organization. And it's not surprising that cops would attempt to protect each other since again, this is what most organizations do. I work in a hospital and management covers themselves, nurses cover each other, security backs each other and then there are the doctors. My point is that it's everywhere and not just cops.

 

[unimaginative2]

There may be a case to be made for holding cops to a higher standard of justice, considering their role in society. There is absolutely no case to be made for holding them to a lower standard. The officer in Saugeen Shores is one matter, since she was clearly doing her job and felt threatened while being extremely unprepared for the situation. The Sheppard and Progress incident is entirely different. This is simply a guy who killed someone while driving recklessly. He no doubt has profound regrets after the fact, but so does pretty much anybody else who kills someone while driving recklessly. If people believe that a $500 fine is an appropriate penalty for vehicular manslaughter, then they should make that the penalty for all such cases. Even more disturbing is that the police obviously (and this is a recurring theme) helped him change the facts on the ground, for example related to his speed when he hit the woman.