On Vancouver police and traffic stops
Re: Cops Run Amok, Marni Soupcoff, March 31. The case to which Marni Soupcoff refers was not a traffic stop, it was a drug arrest. Impaired driving alerted the officer to the danger the driver posed to public safety and marijuana smoke billowing from the car made the cause of that impairment obvious. Force became necessary to make the arrest when he refused to exit the vehicle, which is understandable since he allegedly knew what would be found in his car if he did.
Our officer acted proactively when he saw a car weaving that could at any minute strike another car or pedestrian, causing injury or worse. The video shows the driver was evasive and lying about not having drugs in the car. In fact, there was enough marijuana for Crown counsel to accept a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking. While it was necessary to use some force to extract the driver, it is also important to remember no one was injured and no complaint was made.
It would be ideal if force of any kind was never necessary to make an arrest. But for those who are trying desperately to avoid apprehension, it is not always the option they choose. Chief Constable Jim Chu, Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver. Authority on the front line — be it policing, soldiering, teaching or parenting — requires training and special skills. We are the beneficiaries of the many dedicated to upholding our high standards.
If we want to remove drugged and drunken drivers, officers must be allowed to get their noses into your car space quickly. The obdurates and the righteous must accept collateral damage to their delicate sensitivities, otherwise the malefactors, terrorists and brats out there gain the upper hand. I hope the officer in Vancouver, home of our unsafest roads, survives the reprimand and lashing with a wet noodle he so richly deserves.
Russell Thompson, Victoria. Marni Soupcoff makes a generous point when she concedes police officers “feel embattled and genuinely fear for their own safety.” Nonetheless, they are volunteers, handsomely paid, and we have a right to demand they accept risk and remain civil.
Compare the behaviour of the aggressive Vancouver sergeant to what we saw from Canadian soldiers during the Oka crisis. Under duress and threats, they stood their ground and showed no emotion. The reason is simple: Soldiers know an unauthorized response will result in real sanctions.
The problem with our police departments is that their unions go to the mat in defence of any misbehaviour, however egregious, which results in a culture of impunity. Police work is too vital to be viewed as a sinecure by its worst elements. There has to be a mechanism that allows bad apples to be shown the door.
Pierre Ross, Montreal. For a nanosecond, try to imagine what is going through the officer’s mind — for example, is the driver looking for his gun to shoot me? Is he trying to hide drugs?
This was a tense situation, particularly for the officer. All the driver had to do was to roll down his window and turn on his interior lights so the officer could see what was going on. Had he done that, he probably would have been on his way in a minute.
Hank Bangild, Port Colborne, Ont.