I have relations in Sault St. Marie -my father, step-mother, brother, cousins, nephews and nieces. I am originally from Northern Ontario so I read the Northern Hoot. I am a retired police officer now turned writer and a citizen like everyone else. I read the story about the businessman suing the Ontario Provincial Police officers for two million dollars with mixed feelings. I have been in situations like the way this one is described many times over the years. Multiple people with multiple stories, all agitated and yelling as I tried to sort things out. My initial response was to side with the police as the information I took from the story indicated a situation rapidly getting out of control as it unfolded.
I am not a rich man so the other part of me wanted to side with the working man. I read the story twice. As a former police officer I take biases against the police for granted, and expect it will be somewhere in the story. The lawyer representing the plaintiff comments were just what I would have expected from a lawyer representing his client in a civil suit. Some broad brushes at the police, police training and attitudes with a generalizations which would make you wonder why anyone would want to be a police officer.
The plaintiff was interviewed and given the opportunity to express his grievances. I am sure lawyers from both sides read the interview with interest. The O.P.P declined comment as the matter is before the courts now.
I read the comments section and saw some well-reasoned and thoughtful remarks. I also saw what I would say are ones that offered nothing remotely constructive. I am not a big fan of the comments section but they can be enlightening.
I will be following this story as it unfolds because there is so much more information not readily available yet. Police reports, transcripts from the communications radio traffic, and if this goes to trial -dispositions from everyone involved. What I think we all miss in the big picture is the fact we have the freedom to express our opinions and tell our stories. We have so many freedoms and with those freedoms one of the first things we forget is our responsibilities.
A reporter brought us a story. We are free to agree or disagree. Our responsibility now is to assess it and learn as much as we can as it unfolds. If there are issues, address those issues with the calm and reason we take for granted in our beautiful country. Turn down the rhetoric and let’s not keep the same impulsive and reactive emotions that caused this story in the first place to keep going.
6 Comments
Well I don’t know this “Indian Ernie” but he seems like a calm man. In my opinion though and the bottom line is that cops in Canada are no longer being trained as peace keepers. This is sad…. They had no reason to arrest the father as he was called to the scene after the fact and he had every right to resist……the law says so…period. I hope he gets his two million
hey ernie these officers were so off track,its hard to imagine how they know so little about the laws and are so willing to break the laws,posterao arrested my son for assault ,even though vanderloo told posterao that he attacked my son ,and my son pinched him under the arms to stop the assault.posteraro then assaulted my son because posterao was having a bad day,posteraros words.posteraro then tortured my son in the solar oven cruiser,turing off the cruiser rolling up all windows.leaving it in the open on a hot day for 40 mins.he knew dam well what he was doing.he tasered me twice because I would not let him push me around.he held me in place with his boyfriend nicolle after tasering me so that their other boyfriend luigi bruni could kick the shit out of me from behind.after they have their way with me .officer peter van dienshit head shows up at 100 miles an hour nearly running over an elderly gentleman who was picking up his mail,while his whole family watched from across the hwy.van den gets out of his crusier rushes over to where my daughter is about to get in my truck,and kicks the door of my truck just missing my daughter.when she says what the fuck are you doing.peter van dein assaults my daughter with the help of 2 of his henchmen and arrest her because,his words she was red in the face and verbaly assaultive.this coward is my size and he arrests a 39 yr old mother because she is red in the face.11 false charges not 1 2 or 5 but 11.then they drag my family through the mud for 3 days in the news paper the raido and the inter net.the story was all over Ontario,every thing they said we did.is what they did.these men did not get this mean over nite.if they can do this to a working family in the middle of the afternoon in plain view,you and I both know what they are doing under the cover of night to drunk people and natives
hey Ernie give me a call,i also grew up in northern on.hawk jst.i also worked on the railroad.the acr and have been through Oba on many a train ride both freight and passenger.
Ernie, your comment “I am not a rich man so the other part of me wanted to side with the businessman” makes me wonder. Should not your opinion be based on what is right and what is wrong? Money, or lack of it should not determine if someone is guilty or not.
you clearly didnt read the story then. He went to open the door of the OPP vehicle where his son was being held and handcuffed. He had no right to go and open that door to someone that is being detained. He refused to get on the ground to be handcuffed in a peaceful manner. The police have never been peace keepers, they are there to enforce the law. Dont confuse the two.
Maybe you didn’t read the whole story^^ Dan only wanted to open the door for his son because it was a 30 degree out and his son was roasting in the back of a cop car. He was just looking out for his child while the officers were writing their statements under the shade of a tree. Excuse him for being a concerned father but I don’t believe that he was trying to free his son or break him out. The PEACE officers should have deescalated the situation not provoke an altercation against the Knox family. Police are peace officers entitled to uphold civil law, however they had no right to taser Mr. Knox. Who ever thinks that you can prevent violence with violence is greately misunderstood.