Last week I was witness to members of Halifax Police harrassing a man who clearly needed help getting to his destination and out of the rain. Three vans followed a homeless man with no legs in a wheelchair, kicking him out of every spot he could find to stay out of the rain until it let up. He even asked for a ride to the Metro Turning Point and they refused him this service. The man clearly had mental disabilities as well as physical and became more aggitated the more the police refused to help him. They let him become incredibly aggrivated until they had “no choice” but to take this man to a cell instead of the shelter. I mean really, why did any of these people become cops? Did they think they were really going to help those who needed it or were they stoked on treating the poor badly? Needless to say I was beside myself, because really, who was I supposed to call? The police?
It made me very upset and last week there were even apparent polls that said over 80 percent of people felt safe in downtown Halifax and wanted a bigger police presence. Well I am NOT one of those people. I would feel very unsafe with more of these power trippers around. The HRP should do their jobs correctly and serve and protect the people, ALL OF THE PEOPLE, not abuse and neglect poor peole, not select which civilians they think are worthy of their time. —Sorry I Couldn’t Be of More Service to You
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2012.
The logical question would be how much do you know about the events that came before? Don’t judge until you have all the facts.
Cops didn’t become cops to help anyone. They are there for the money, a pension, and some “badass” lockerroom stories. Police have a certain sect of society they can push around and harrass, that just happens to be people who can’t afford a GOOD lawyer. They would never treat someone in a position of upper class social stature with anything but respect. Do you think they slammed Conrad Black on the hood of their cop car, smacked his head off the roof while shoving him in to the back? Do you think they man-handled him and beat him in the interrogation room? You can bet your last dollar they didn’t!! His lawyers, he likely pays 500/h, worked out a deal where he had time to take care of his shit, then turn himself in.
My friend is a high up executive that drives a expensive, sports car. He gets warnings for speeding all the time, and has been let go for DUI at least twice in the last five years. All the cops want to do is have conversations about “how fast his car will go” and “how nice it is”.
It makes no difference what happened before the OB arrived. Police are ther to protect AND SERVE, not act any way they see fit. Especially with a man in a wheel chair. Shamefull!!
Better than this poor fucker:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-22…
in defence o.p., they are not a cab service. if he would have told them politely the problem, they would not have bugged him. i see this all the time with douchebags that think the world owes them a giving. if he mouthed off, then they would get pissed off. if he really only wanted to get someplace, then maybe he should have been cooler in his communication to them. but we only have your side of it.
OB… never forget in this world there are black people , white people, brown people, yellow people & various shades of those .
There are also blue people.
Most but not all wear uniforms & most of them are definately not your friend . They are not there to help you. They are there to ENFORCE the LAWS as they see fit & the power of arrest & detainment without charge can & will be used against you.
Thank god for the court system, as imperfect as it is, its better than the police being the judges as well ! (although unless you can prove wrong doing a judge will usually take a cops word over yours mine & anyone elses) so keep a camera handy, I do.
We don’t need more cops but the problem prone areas, including downtown should be plastered with CCTV cameras.
I tend to agree with PDG but their actions do seem to be heavy-handed.
Lay a complaint under the process laid out in the Police Act. And down at HQ they have to tell you exactly how it is done.
And did you jump in and offer to assist this person who so obviously needed it?
And do you know the events that took place before you came upon the situation?
I’m guessing the answers are no and no.
Perhaps this person had been troublesome and warned to stay out of local businesses. Who knows what lead up to the events that took place.
Easy to pass judgement when you don’t know all the facts, isn’t it?
Would you have onlyme? You can’t just get in the middle of a police matter.
If this guy was a problem or there were circumstances leading up to this incident, as some of you are suggesting, it seems to me like they shouldn’t have needed to follow him and bug him until they finally had “no choice” but to book him.
I don’t give cops the benefit of the doubt anymore, and I won’t until I feel like they are held as accountable for their wrongdoings as ordinary citizens. I’ve personally witnessed them do things that you and I would serve time for.
Of course you can’t just jump in the middle of police matter. I wouldn’t expect anyone to.
However, if this person observed this homeless man long enough to determine he was in distress and “clearly needed help”, what help did they provide?
I’m not saying the police were 100% right in their actions, however did this concerned person do anything to try to help? Not likely.
wanna see nasty cops, go to Hamilton Ont, or Toronto ont, seriously, there are NOT enough services out here for the homless or disabled..