Growing up, we knew the Surete du Quebec (a strange 'off' police force) were a police detachment we wanted no part of. They exuded racism and possessed an unsettling swagger. We called them the 'le, le maudit ostie' police because we always got the feeling they were one slip up away from calling us 'wops' and we knew this is what they thought in the back of their minds.
Yes, shades of the Deep South when cops called blacks 'boy' in derogatory disdain.
Alas, this is the perception but we did hear stories from time to time.
Here's one story.
"Police officers trading money and cocaine for sex, a missing persons case that collected dust for months, and allegations of wanton cruelty against vulnerable women.
These are what indigenous people say they have encountered first-hand in their dealings with the Sûreté du Québec in the remote mining city of Val d’Or.
The allegations come from 12 aboriginal people, mostly women, from Algonquin communities around Val d’Or in northwestern Quebec, and they range from sexual to physical abuse."
No matter how you dice this, it's awful and appalling. It literally cuts to the heart of who we are and what we want our police officers to be.
We shut down a proud military regiment for this sort of behavior with the Somalia Affair involving the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
The came this story which came as very little surprise to me:
"Benaouda's cellphone camera was still rolling and recorded the conversation in the patrol car between Benaouda and Guénette. Benaouda protested that he did nothing wrong.
According to the police ethics board decision, Guénette then told Benaouda: "Check les lunettes mon ostie d'arabe," referring to his own glasses.
This translates loosely as, "Look at my glasses, God damn Arab."
Guénette is then heard sarcastically trying to mock an Algerian accent, and suggesting that Benaouda had a Mafia lawyer."
Nice. Professional.
Either the SQ cleans house, makes meaningful changes or the government must disband it.
Yes, shades of the Deep South when cops called blacks 'boy' in derogatory disdain.
Alas, this is the perception but we did hear stories from time to time.
Here's one story.
"Police officers trading money and cocaine for sex, a missing persons case that collected dust for months, and allegations of wanton cruelty against vulnerable women.
These are what indigenous people say they have encountered first-hand in their dealings with the Sûreté du Québec in the remote mining city of Val d’Or.
The allegations come from 12 aboriginal people, mostly women, from Algonquin communities around Val d’Or in northwestern Quebec, and they range from sexual to physical abuse."
No matter how you dice this, it's awful and appalling. It literally cuts to the heart of who we are and what we want our police officers to be.
We shut down a proud military regiment for this sort of behavior with the Somalia Affair involving the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
The came this story which came as very little surprise to me:
"Benaouda's cellphone camera was still rolling and recorded the conversation in the patrol car between Benaouda and Guénette. Benaouda protested that he did nothing wrong.
According to the police ethics board decision, Guénette then told Benaouda: "Check les lunettes mon ostie d'arabe," referring to his own glasses.
This translates loosely as, "Look at my glasses, God damn Arab."
Guénette is then heard sarcastically trying to mock an Algerian accent, and suggesting that Benaouda had a Mafia lawyer."
Nice. Professional.
Either the SQ cleans house, makes meaningful changes or the government must disband it.
The ever-intriguing relationship we have with those in authority:
ReplyDeleteWhen what they do is in our favor, and we benefit somehow from the written laws, we have a positive viewpoint of them.
However, if they act against us (especially on behalf of someone else) and the laws are too strict and inflexible, that's when we feel contempt and animosity towards them.
For me, and others I reckon, it really simply comes down to accountability. If they faced the same consequences we would for similar actions, I think the criticism of police would be far less toxic. Instead, we get double-talk, lack of transparency and cops getting off for doing bad and sometimes horrible things like murder. The thin and thick blue line is blurred.
ReplyDeleteIf this is the actions of a minority then it should be easy for police departments across the continent to weed them out and fire them. That many still remain casts a shadow on their professionalism and leads to suspicion.
Hypocrisy, favoritism and fraudulence---the three main aspects of societies us cynical columnists get the most worked up over.
DeleteAgreed: Equitableness and transparency are a must in order to enable a decent social climate