This post is in response to "Guest", who posted claiming to be a police officer with the TPS.
What kind of crack are you smoking buddy? Literally.
I work as a paramedic with the City of Calgary, and work on the reserve TEMS platoon in conjunction with the CPS. Anytime they do any sort of raid, and throughout various calls of the day, Calgary EMS and Calgary Police Service work hand-in-hand, all the damn time. Which is why I asked the question above.
- The police are SUPPOSED to look into suspicious activity, thats one aspect of their job. In the CC, it states that an officer is authorized to search vehicles and persons, as long as that search is reasonable. Having several 'persons of interest' driving around in a $50,000 vehicle would definitely classify them under the category of being reasonably searched. They can call racism, police harrassment all they want - but if you find an illegal firearm, or narcotics, or anything illegal at all - who gives a shit? They can try to use whatever lame excuse they want, such as racism or police harrassment - bottom line is though, they broke the law and they got caught. Tough shit.
- Are you trying to tell me that one of the reasons you guys don't move in and make some pretty bold moves is because your afraid of your superiors coming down on you? Thats a total shame, that the relationship between the politicians, police board, and the street officers is that way. Here in Calgary, everybody will back you up 100% of the time. They might do an 'inquiry' to ensure professional standards are met, but everybody ranging from your superiors, to the police association, the police board, and even local politicians will support you 100%. Your there to do a job, which is serve the community and make the community safer by preventing and tackling crime at all levels. People can say what they want and try to use whatever lame excuse they want, but if they get caught breaking the law - tough shit.
- A little side note, having police officers go on strike and walk out is absolutely unheard of, here in Calgary. Not in a million years would you ever find a Calgary Police Officer walking a picket line in his uniform...that is the most unprofessional garbage I have ever heard of in a long time. How is the public supposed to maintain confidence in the men and women who have sworn to protect them, if they are on a picket line whining about wages and working conditions? I know you folks out there in Ontario, especially the Toronto area, face a diverse network of problems in many areas, but for f**k sake - your police officers; aka, role models.
- You should also know that it really doesn't matter if the politicians back you up, nor your own police board. Its whether the public supports your decisions or not. And, having lived in Toronto for 6yrs before moving out here to the West, I'm confident in saying I think the public would support some bold action on behalf of the police, especially considering the gun-problem and gang-problem your currently trying to deal with.
Here in Calgary, the asian-gang problem was made very public this year with several shootings and drive-by shootings, similar to that of Ontario. The difference is, is that the Calgary Police Service networked, gathered a lot of great intelligence, and stuck to these guys like dirt on a white shirt. They pulled them over for EVERYTHING; i.e., illegal lane changes, jay-walking, obstructed license plates, speeding, 'driving suspiciously', etc, etc. After harassing them big time, and staying on them like mud, arrests eventually started to rack up for firearms, narcotics, and other offenses. The story goes on, but the point is; they gathered the right intelligence, and they acted on it in a way that arrested the people who needed to be arrested, and deterred a lot of other folks from becoming public due to the sheer amount of police pressure on them. The problem isn't over, but the CPS sure has a handle on things in regards to gang-warfare now.