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Mouthy to cops in BC? You’re in for a whupping.

May 29th, 2008 by Mike Gogulski | Posted in police

Don’t go getting all mouthy with the state’s goons now. Least of all in British Columbia, where the RCMP just last year killed a distraught immigrant with taser shocks less than one minute after engaging with him. At least in this case the charges against the victim are being dropped, and I saw speculation in one place that Owen may be filing suit against the Mounties. Fat load of good it will do him.

From the Nanaimo Daily News:

Judge says Mountie created confrontation

26 May 2008

A Nanaimo provincial court judge, in dropping a charge against a local man of assaulting police, instead blamed a Nanaimo Mountie for creating the violent confrontation.

The decision was handed by Judge Allan Gould on Monday in staying charges of assault police and uttering threats against Shane Owen, 48.

On Nov. 25, 2005, Owen was walking down the street when the officer, who told the court that Owen had committed no offence but didn’t look right, decided to question him.

Owen told the officer to leave him alone, gave a Nazi salute and swore at him. Gould said that a more experienced officer would have “spoken in kind” to Owen and gone on his way. A Supreme Court of Canada decision states that only when there is reasonable suspicion of a crime can police force someone to comply with their requests.

Gould said the officer then “hounded” Owen into the behaviour that led to the charges. The officer’s actions were “akin to Chinese water torture” and his actions escalated the situation, said Gould, though he also said that Owen’s actions in part brought the unwanted attention on himself. Other officers attended what became a brawl and Owen was subdued with a Taser, batons and pepper spray.

Owen was then held in custody, “to which he should not have been subjected in my opinion,” said Gould.

The editors of the Daily News chimed in with a ponies-and-kittens puff piece on behalf of the cops, which after stating “The constant focus on the death of Dziekanski, tragic as it was, distracts the police from doing their jobs.”, concludes with appropriate obeisance and genuflections:

But the cops are such an easy scapegoat that many people forget to check their facts.

Of course there are the few misguided and even criminal police officers, similar to workers any profession.

But these are the vast minority.

In reality, keeping everyone safe is a tough job.

The least we can do is show these people some respect.

Well Mr. Owen’s own personal stormtroopers didn’t seem too distracted now, did they?“Sieg Heil!” isn’t respectful enough, I suppose.