EnMasse

DSquared · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:44 am Post subject: Winnipeg Police Chief Under Fire

Questions about his role in the James Driskell murder case:

Diane Demorney · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 8:53 am Post subject:

It always bothers me when I see such alleged corruption. I have family that are Vancouver police as well as Winnipeg police. I can't imagine them being involved in anything sleazy.

Having said that, one of my dear cousins (Vancouver police member) was charged along with several officers in police brutality. He was completely exhonerated; but still the stain remains on a good man.
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Mush · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:16 pm Post subject:

Hearing clips of Chief Ewatski on CBC yeaterday, it was embarrassing. He squirmed like crazy trying to make a distinction between finding "new information" in his inquiry and uncovering "new evidence", under Lockyer's questioning. He then claims that it was up to the Crown to make any disclosures of new in formation. While knowing that, quite possibly, an innocent man was rotting in jail.

That's pretty serious. Careerism over integrity, I say.

N.Beltov · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:58 pm Post subject: Fire Ewatski and Katz.

DSquared · Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 1:34 am Post subject:

What's strange is that when the Tomas Sophonow (sp?) case came to light a few years ago, Ewatski publicly said, "yeah, we &!#@% up that one."

DSquared · Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:31 am Post subject:

Prosecutors knew witnesses lied on stand

TS. · Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:48 am Post subject:

If that is true, then the prosecutor should be immediately disbarred. One cannot act as an officer of the court and knowingly allow perjury.
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"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." - Thomas Jefferson

DSquared · Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:47 am Post subject:

Driskell and Sophanow cases possibly linked

Today's National Post says that lawyers have called for an investigation into the tactics of former Manitoba prosecutor George Dangerfield, who handled both cases, possibly more.
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This is pre-eminently the time, to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

DSquared · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:15 pm Post subject:

After 7 years and 2 shy of his contract, Ewatski to resign as of June:

DSquared · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:34 am Post subject:

Driskell report is out:

Hephaestion · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:14 am Post subject:

Corruption, incompetance and cover-up in the Winnipeg cops. Wow. Colour me surprised. Sarcasm

This (and other cases like it) is one of the reasons why I give a big fat raspberry to all those who say, "well, if you're not guilty, then you've got nothing to hide."

In short, I don't trust cops.
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"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin

DSquared · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:38 am Post subject:

Related thread about the WPS

Aside from the tragic aspect that someone has been wrongfully jailed for a period of time, there is another aspect about wrongful convictions we need to remember. Whomever is guilty of this (and many other crimes) has not been held accountable. So, not only is the convicted individual's life ruined by the wrongful conviction, but the victim's family has no sense of closure or any way of knowing what really happened.
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This is pre-eminently the time, to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Diane Demorney · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:29 pm Post subject:

I read the other day (can't remember where, though) that the justice system (?) was considering looking at all of Dangerfield's prosecutions for the past several years, and focussing on the ones where the suspect (now convicted) insisted on their innocence. This is going to get ugly, folks.

ETA: :::sigh::: found it... need more coffee...
Cons line up for reviews

Hephaestion · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:31 pm Post subject:

DSquared · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:39 pm Post subject:

Jim Driskell lawsuit begins

Reverend Blair · Fulltime enMasse Member Joined: 11 Apr 2006 Posts: 2250

Hmmm...back when Vic Toews was pushing his law and order/cops can do no wrong schtick provincially instead of federally.
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DSquared · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:01 am Post subject:

Driskell's lawsuit going ahead:

anne cameron · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject:

Aren't you glad we don't have capital punishment? The list just gets longer. Marshall, Milgard, Morin,...

And, as has already been said, each wrongful conviction means a perpetrator is still out , still free.

Rufus Polson · Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:48 pm Post subject:

I think independent watchdogs with teeth would help. But they're not enough by themselves. One major problem is the organizational structure of the cops. As long as they're this strongly hierarchical, paramilitary organization with a "breed apart" mentality there are going to be problems. It's a recipe for conformity and lock-step peer pressure, a "circling the wagons" and "us against all the outsiders" mentality.

If, for instance, we flattened and loosened the organizational structure some, that might help. When it comes down to it, cops inherit their structure from the military--that's where they trace their descent from organizationally. It's a lousy model for a civilian institution. If you could start a policing organization from scratch using a more normal personnel model (Or better yet, a cop co-op, but I'm trying to be realistic here), you might get somewhat better results. Now in addition, nowadays there are a lot of different roles and requirements in terms of what a police officer does. But I get the impression that the training is pretty much standardized; everyone goes through this "basic training" thing to become a generic cop if they're to be considered a police officer. This, again, sets cops apart from everyone else, gives them all this military bonding experience, and so on. But say you need some people to investigate white collar crime--do you really need them to have passed a rigorous physical and learned to shoot or how to pat someone down for weapons? No, you want an accountant, and you need to train them in things like how to properly and legitimately gather and handle evidence. If they catch criminals, is there a reason not to call them police officers, other than that it would dilute the "esprit de corps" apartness inculcated by the standardized training? If the police had positions with sets of qualifications like any other organization, that anyone with the qualifications could fill, the exclusive mentality might be diluted.

DSquared · Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 2:57 am Post subject:

Rufus Polson · Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:27 pm Post subject:

DSquared · Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 5:31 am Post subject:

Family demands answers after teen dies in police custody:

sparqui · Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:41 pm Post subject:

I hope the media keeps on top of the Wilfred Asham case. What happened in that interview room? Wasn't there a similar case in BC recently?
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DSquared · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:40 am Post subject:

The issue of deaths in police custody isn't confined to Winnipeg:

bshmr · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 3:07 am Post subject:

This one could easily fault the hospital (Lakeshore General Hospital), not the RCMP. Please follow-up with the atopsy results (Friday or when published).

sparqui · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:13 am Post subject:

Well they still haven't provided any explanation for why a healthy 19 year old died in the hands of the Winnipeg police. I'm not holding my breath for this one either.
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“If my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a tractor.”

-- Gilles Duceppe

DSquared · Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:24 am Post subject:

Hephaestion · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:23 pm Post subject:

Winnipeg police officer faces attempted murder charge

DSquared · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:50 am Post subject:

Chief Keith McCaskill has certainly been saying the right things in terms of what I feel a police service should be like. Maybe things are going to improve under his watch?
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This is pre-eminently the time, to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Rufus Polson · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:07 pm Post subject:

DSquared · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 10:34 pm Post subject:

Asham family suing police
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This is pre-eminently the time, to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

DSquared · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:06 pm Post subject:

Breaking: another conviction overturned:

Hephaestion · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:39 pm Post subject:

Hephaestion · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:44 pm Post subject:

The latest word is that Manitoba's Liberal government (via the Attorney General) has announced that because Unger "confessed" to the killing, the province will not pay any compensation to Unger.

Well, yes, but Unger's "confession" came as the result of one of the RCMP's hugely discredited "Mr. Big" investigations (and also one of their highly suspect "jailhouse informant" snitch techniques).

Aug. 24/07 -- RCMP's 'Mr. Big' stings challenged

Senor Magoo · He's got a big one Joined: 11 Apr 2006 Posts: 7180

I suppose some compensation would be reasonable, but at the same time, the whole "Mr. Big" sting only works when someone wants to become a "made man". If you don't already have dreams of a career as a violent criminal, it's not going to fly. And in that regard it's kind of hard to feel *too* sorry for someone when they find out that the important criminal boss they thought liked them is actually a cop.

Kids, if someone tells you they think you'd be a great addition to their Elite Crime Team, just say NO.
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Hephaestion · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:21 pm Post subject:

You *really* need to read more about this whole "Mr. Big" scam, Magoo. There's a reason why it's not allowed in the UK or the US (not even Texas, which oughtta tell you something.)
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"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin

Senor Magoo · He's got a big one Joined: 11 Apr 2006 Posts: 7180

Oh I did, and I'm not saying it's awesome. I'm just saying that if you're the kind of person whose goal in life is to be BFF with some criminal kingpin, it's hard to feel too sorry for you.

As I understand it, the concern is primarily that a lot of idjits go along with it and end up confessing to crimes they didn't commit. That's a concern, certainly. But whether or not I should be feeling sorry for the idjit is entirely separate from that.

Maybe I'm just the eternal Boy Scout here, but if someone approached me with an offer to join their criminal gang, I'd be saying no thanks.
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DSquared · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject:

As for a new investigation:

Hephaestion · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:38 am Post subject:

IOW, "Fuck you, we got the right guy in the first place."

The people who wrote that POS should be fired.
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"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin

Hephaestion · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:42 am Post subject:

TS. · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:20 am Post subject:

DSquared · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:38 am Post subject:

CBC's Fifth Estate "The Wrong Man," about the career of prosecutor George Dangerfield. Dangerfield currently has the most confirmed wrongful convictions of any prosecutor in Canada.
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This is pre-eminently the time, to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-Franklin Delano Roosevelt