Police contempt for public must be arrested
Brian Jones: It’s impossible to know whether the RCMP and RNC’s obvious contempt for the public is a feeling returned in kind, but the actions of the Mounties and Constabulary are likely pushing more than a few people in that direction.
It’s impossible to know whether the RCMP and RNC’s obvious contempt for the public is a feeling returned in kind, but the actions of the Mounties and Constabulary are likely pushing more than a few people in that direction.
The long-suffering citizens of Newfoundland may be accustomed to being treated with scorn and disregard by their politicians, but up until recently they surely expected more from their police forces.
You have to wonder whether the police realize, or care, that they are destroying public trust and respect with their actions regarding the Donald Dunphy case.
It verges on farcical, except that it is so serious.
RNC chief William Janes declared this week the Saskatoon Police Service looked into the case and deemed there to have been no wrongdoing when RNC officer Joe Smyth fatally shot Dunphy in the latter’s Mitchell’s Brook home on April 5, 2015.
The RNC was “verbally briefed” about the conclusions of the Saskatoon police, Janes stated in an email sent to media on Wednesday.
“A determination whether this report can be released will be made at a later date,” the chief stated.
The unnecessary secrecy continues. When it arrives, the prairie report will be the fourth formal examination of the case that is being withheld from the public. They are:
• The RCMP investigation of the shooting;
• Retired justice David Riche’s report about the RCMP’s investigation;
• A review of the RCMP’s investigation done by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT); and
• An investigation by the Saskatoon Police Service into the RCMP’s investigation.
Secret police
I am well aware, from emails and messages I’ve received regarding previous columns I’ve written about this topic, that some people believe the public — and, by extension, the media — should shut up and let the police do their work unencumbered by questions or pressure for information.
They are free to hold such views, of course, just as others can lean to contrary opinions.
What is extremely bothersome is the leadership of the RCMP and RNC apparently also subscribe to the notion that the public should shut up and doesn’t deserve answers until the police decide they are good and ready to provide them.
The situation is astounding. The leaders of the RNC and RCMP apparently regard the concepts of open, transparent, responsible, answerable power — in political governance and in policing — as mere textbook items that are fine in theory, but in practice can be ignored whenever necessary. (Albeit, in this, they are in the company of a good many politicians.)
Let’s return, again, to the first and most basic question that needs answering, and which should have been answered a year and a half ago: who told Joe Smyth to go to Donald Dunphy’s house?
We shouldn’t need a public inquiry to obtain that information. All we need is politicians and police brass who recognize and take seriously their duty to provide important information to the public.
“It’s under investigation” is not, and must not be, an excuse to withhold information, although it is, unfortunately, a modus operandi in both RCMP and RNC headquarters.
Preposterously, the “it’s under investigation” dodge has morphed into the “it will be part of the public inquiry” evasion.
So, it will take another year or two, and an expenditure of several million dollars, to force public officials to provide information that should have been provided voluntarily and as part of their job requirement.
It will take a public inquiry to force police and politicians to adhere to their responsibility to be answerable.
Finally getting some answers will be a good thing, but what must not be overlooked is the contemptible abrogation that led to the need for a public inquiry. Brian Jones is a desk editor at The Telegram. He can be reached at bjones@thetelegram.com.