Dirty Stinking Copper
A man attired in a bike courier outfit scrambled along the street, inexplicably pausing to tip signs over, or bang on a storekeeper’s window.
His behavior was odd, or bizarre, on Queen Street in the Kensington Market area of Toronto. Finally, the police came, raced to the stranger, who made it to the front of yet another business. One cop had him, the other searched the suspect.
Meanwhile, a crowd of bystanders had accumulated. Some filmed this scene with their latest, trendy, electronic gadgets. Each official was equipped with latex gloves.
“What do we have here?” one of them asked the other. A ripple of shock went through the onlookers when the captured man struggled, sending all three individuals to the ground in a heap.
“Freaking coppers?’ protested a recent arrival, “we’re turning into a police state!”
In a jiffy, the officials sprung from the ground and went bolt upright in the defensive position. They adjusted their hold on the squirming man, who moved to be positioned on his belly. The police continued to search the suspect, emptying out his pockets. Yes, they marveled at the bottle the pulled from him. Some keys and a wallet joined the stash of evidence.
The filming went on. The man was then cuffed and escorted to the cruiser while his partner scooped up the evidence and followed back to the car. In a jiffy, the cruiser was gone, the impromptu media scrum had dispersed and everything was forgotten. Or was it? Social media is filled with such scenes. Ever since the G20, citizens have been distrustful of the police.
Several weeks ago, there was a police shootout on a streetcar, where a man had been tasered and killed. That entire episode was filmed too. So no one trusts the police, the politicians that make the laws, or the mainstream media that tell the story.
Perhaps respect is dead after all.
Not sure what the point is, if the respect you say is dead is respect for the public or respect for the police.
“The man struggled sending all three to the ground” This needs some clarification, it is not a struggle but an al out violent thrashing to send 2 people holding him to the ground.
“In a jiffy, the officials sprung from the ground and went bolt upright in the defensive position. ”
-so they are standing, leaning forward, fists raised?
“They adjusted their hold on the squirming man, who moved to be positioned on his belly.”
=they have massively long arms, being bolt upright but still holding him on the ground
“The police continued to search the suspect, emptying out his pockets. Yes, they marveled at the bottle the pulled from him.”
-they marveled? I have this image of two cops marveling, holding it up and staring at it in astonishment. People tend to marvel at things they have never seen or things so astonishing that they are almost stunned. These two marvel at a bottle?
The sweeping statement that no one trusts any authority is not very accurate. Yes there are problems, issues that need addressed, but it is hardly universal across the country.
I think you need to clarify the story, the details and eliminate some of the mistakes that detract from it
I agree with Craig on all of his points.
Here’s another – what you don’t do is give us an explanation for the man’s behaviour. “A man attired in a bike courier outfit scrambled along the street, inexplicably pausing to tip signs over, or bang on a storekeeper’s window” is all you say on the matter. Was that why the police took him away? Or was it what they found in his pockets??? :p