Applying Bylaw P-6
Can anyone identify clearly all the riot police when they are dressed, head-to-toe, in their battle gear? How can one get an accurate ID through a helmet and a visor?
I believe the police are breaking bylaw P-6 themselves by wearing their cumbersome protective headgear that sufficiently hides their faces from proper visual identification!
Maybe, the protesters should wear similar kinds of headgear that covers and provides protection for their faces just like the police. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander, or is this just another case where police are above the particular law they are enforcing?
Robert O’Brien
Montreal
Re: “Are helmeted riot police breaking Bylaw P-6?” (Online Letters, April 11)
In response to the reader questioning whether the police are in violation of Bylaw P-6, I can categorically answer him “no.” There are two reasons. 1) P-6 applies to protests. The police are not protesting, they are working trying to keep the city safe from those who would cause chaos and mayhem and then claim they were merely expressing themselves.
2) All police have numeric identifiers, which are clearly visible and each one linked to an individual officer. For example, in the photo posted with the letter, the number “12083” is clearly visible on the second officer from the left.
If Mr. O’Brien perhaps feels the equipment is not necessary, I would invite him to try this little experiment: Dress up in some hockey equipment and then stand still while your friends throw billiard balls, hammers, rocks and cans of beer from close range.
It might help him gather some perspective on the situation.
Simon Templar
Verdun
Re: “Too much polarization out there” (Henry Aubin, April 10)
I believe that respected municipal affairs critic Henry Aubin’s reasoning for supporting laws governing protesters is flawed.
Mr. Aubin appears to believe that our protests are characterized by hooliganism, and refers to the “demonstrations’ knack for attracting vandals.”
Of the 400 or more protests over the last year, only a few contained vandalism. Far more prevalent are the injuries caused by police sound bombs, rubber bullets, batons, tackles and pepper spray against protesters and downtown pedestrians.
The key reason behind protest regulations is to suppress dissent. Forget preventing traffic chaos, as most demonstrations peacefully pass by quickly, while police mass arrests mostly take place on major streets, causing hours of traffic blockage.
We should celebrate our youth’s passion for a better society. Passionate city advocates like Aubin should warn citizens against ceding authority to the state to decide if, how, when and where people can protest, who is allowed to protest and which groups of people simply get arrested. Regulating dissent corrupts democratic society and is never desirable.
Scott Weinstein
Montreal