White Rock RCMP trigger happy?

[Fancy]

by the way I never condemned this cop yet?

You are comparing all the bad apples with respect to this story without learning the rest of it. Apparently there is more to come according to the news.

[WhatThe]

That depends on your definition of "weapon".

A taxi cab can be used as a weapon. Like say, for example, Mr. and Ms. Cab Fare tell cabbie to drive right through that group of people who they say are trying to "get" them. But that group of people are plain clothes members who signal the cabbie to stop and the cabbie tries to drive through them anyway. In that instance the cab becomes the "weapon" which is capable of grievous bodily harm or death and it is "pointed" at the members or someone else. In such case the member would be 100% justified in shooting at the driver.

I'm not saying for certain that is what happened here. I have no information to believe that to be the case. But it is one scenario that would make sense to me.

When I initially heard about the incident I was surprised to see in the news that the subject vehicle was a cab.

Sure, I understand your scenario. That doesn't appear to be the case here with a side window shot out.

[WhatThe]

"DRIVER recognized the people he was about to run down as police officers."

Not sure where you got that from Donald. The article never stated that.

[Donald G]

To rvrepairnut ...

I have to agree that ".. he persists in his usual premature passing of judgement" pretty will sums up many if not most of your comments. IMO there is a blurring of the normally distinct line between reality and fiction

[WhatThe]

Despite what some think there is something wrong in this province when it comes to police violence. Our little province of 4.5 million people lead the country in police initiated and in-custody deaths.

That report revealed fairly consistent numbers of between 14 and 17 persons dying in RCMP custody over the 5 year period being analyzed. Of the 80 deaths, more than half (n=45) occurred in “E” Division (British Columbia). While British Columbia has a large proportion of Canada‟s RCMP members (33%), its proportion of the total number of in-custody deaths (56%) exceeds that proportion by a fairly wide margin. The report revealed that almost a quarter of the deaths (19 out of 80) resulted from police officer-involved shootings. After alcohol/drug overdose deaths, being shot by the police was the second highest cause of death revealed by their findings.
http://bccla.org/wp-content/uploads/201 ... eaths3.pdf

B.C. has seen one death for every 254,550 people per year. In comparison, Ontario has had one death for every 1.63 million people per year, New Brunswick has had one death for every 457,000 people per year, and there has been one death for every 392,100 people per year in Saskatchewan.
http://www.straight.com/news/british-co ... ths-report

[Fancy]

Plainclothes RCMP officers were investigating what’s believed to be a “crack shack” near Russell Avenue and Finlay Street when a suspect vehicle left the property carrying three people.

from The Province

[Donald G]

To WhatThe ...

IMO selecting only a part of a phrase out of a sentence, as you have done, is like giving only a few of the numbers out of a bank balance. It gives completely false information and reflects the reading ability of the person doing it rather than the situation described.

[WhatThe]

To WhatThe ...

IMO selecting only a part of a phrase out of a sentence, as you have done, is like giving only a few of the numbers out of a bank balance. It gives completely false information and reflects the reading ability of the person doing it rather than the situation described.

No, you stated a fact, one that isn't supported by the article so you were the one giving completely false information. It's not my ability to read but your false information stated.

[Treblehook]

Despite what some think there is something wrong in this province when it comes to police violence. Our little province of 4.5 million people lead the country in police initiated and in-custody deaths.

That report revealed fairly consistent numbers of between 14 and 17 persons dying in RCMP custody over the 5 year period being analyzed. Of the 80 deaths, more than half (n=45) occurred in “E” Division (British Columbia). While British Columbia has a large proportion of Canada‟s RCMP members (33%), its proportion of the total number of in-custody deaths (56%) exceeds that proportion by a fairly wide margin. The report revealed that almost a quarter of the deaths (19 out of 80) resulted from police officer-involved shootings. After alcohol/drug overdose deaths, being shot by the police was the second highest cause of death revealed by their findings.
http://bccla.org/wp-content/uploads/201 ... eaths3.pdf

B.C. has seen one death for every 254,550 people per year. In comparison, Ontario has had one death for every 1.63 million people per year, New Brunswick has had one death for every 457,000 people per year, and there has been one death for every 392,100 people per year in Saskatchewan.
http://www.straight.com/news/british-co ... ths-report

The use of statistics in a stand alone circumstance like the BCCLA did in the above paragraph, is of limited value at best. They are comparing incidents in RCMP custody in British Columbia with the stats for the RCMP in the rest of the country. That the numbers are much higher in BC ought to be understandable to anyone. Obvious contributing factors might be the numbers of officers and the policing environments in which they perform their duties. So, it is not as simple as the BCCLA statistics would seem to suggest. Is there any surprise that most people who die in police custody do so as a result of alcohol and/or drug consumption? Is it any surprise that being shot by the police is second [if it is]? What about suicides in police custody? What is important for comparison purposes is how do the statistics in relation to these events compare between jurisdictions of similar size and makeup across the country. Apples to apples and oranges to oranges. In making this observation, I am neither defending nor condemning the actions of the police when firing on the cab in this recent incident. I am simply offering the opinion that hauling out these stats used by the BCCLA, in this thread to support a contention that there is something wrong in this province when it comes to police violence, might be a little misleading. Maybe it is like saying that snowboarding and skiing in Saskatchewan is a dangerous activity because a few people are killed every year in BC due to avalanches.

[Donald G]

To Treblehook ...

Well stated. The last person from the BCCLA to make all but unlimited false allegations against the police rode his horse in the last B.C. Provincial Election Derby thsat gave the Liberals a Majority Government. Professing to address 'phantom' wrongs committed by the police was simply a way of becoming known.

IMO the real reason for their comments is as much in the personal interest of the BCCLA speaker as it is in support of the civil liberty of the citizens.

[WhatThe]

Despite what some think there is something wrong in this province when it comes to police violence. Our little province of 4.5 million people lead the country in police initiated and in-custody deaths.

That report revealed fairly consistent numbers of between 14 and 17 persons dying in RCMP custody over the 5 year period being analyzed. Of the 80 deaths, more than half (n=45) occurred in “E” Division (British Columbia). While British Columbia has a large proportion of Canada‟s RCMP members (33%), its proportion of the total number of in-custody deaths (56%) exceeds that proportion by a fairly wide margin. The report revealed that almost a quarter of the deaths (19 out of 80) resulted from police officer-involved shootings. After alcohol/drug overdose deaths, being shot by the police was the second highest cause of death revealed by their findings.
http://bccla.org/wp-content/uploads/201 ... eaths3.pdf

B.C. has seen one death for every 254,550 people per year. In comparison, Ontario has had one death for every 1.63 million people per year, New Brunswick has had one death for every 457,000 people per year, and there has been one death for every 392,100 people per year in Saskatchewan.
http://www.straight.com/news/british-co ... ths-report

The use of statistics in a stand alone circumstance like the BCCLA did in the above paragraph, is of limited value at best. They are comparing incidents in RCMP custody in British Columbia with the stats for the RCMP in the rest of the country. That the numbers are much higher in BC ought to be understandable to anyone. Obvious contributing factors might be the numbers of officers and the policing environments in which they perform their duties. So, it is not as simple as the BCCLA statistics would seem to suggest. Is there any surprise that most people who die in police custody do so as a result of alcohol and/or drug consumption? Is it any surprise that being shot by the police is second [if it is]? What about suicides in police custody? What is important for comparison purposes is how do the statistics in relation to these events compare between jurisdictions of similar size and makeup across the country. Apples to apples and oranges to oranges. In making this observation, I am neither defending nor condemning the actions of the police when firing on the cab in this recent incident. I am simply offering the opinion that hauling out these stats used by the BCCLA, in this thread to support a contention that there is something wrong in this province when it comes to police violence, might be a little misleading. Maybe it is like saying that snowboarding and skiing in Saskatchewan is a dangerous activity because a few people are killed every year in BC due to avalanches.

It's but one paragraph of a 238 page report. Link provided. If you read the first couple of chapters you'd find some rather troubling things. They do indeed compare apples to apples and it makes little sense that - Coroner‟s data from Ontario revealed there were 316 police-involved deaths between 1992 and 2007. In that same time period, there were 267 police-involved deaths in British Columbia. While the absolute numbers for Ontario were slightly higher, the significant difference in population for the two provinces reveals that people are much more likely to die through police-contact in B.C. compared to Ontario. Using census population estimates of 13,210,700 for Ontario and 4,531,000 for B.C. in 2010 (Statistics Canada, 2010), the rate of death through police involvement in Ontario is 1 death for every 41,806 people compared to 1 death for every 16,970 people in B.C.

[Donald G]

To WhatThe ...

There are a wide range of causes of death that our society considers to be associated to "police related" deaths; including heart attacks, suicides, drug overdoses to name only a few.

To take an undefined total of the "police related" deaths from area 'A' and compare it to the police related deaths from area 'B' is ridiculously inaccurate. Perhaps you could find out what is included in "police related deaths" in each area before professing to know what, if anything, the total figures depict?

[WhatThe]

To WhatThe ...

There are a wide range of causes of death that our society considers to be associated to "police related" deaths; including heart attacks, suicides, drug overdoses to name only a few.

To take an undefined total of the "police related" deaths from area 'A' and compare it to the police related deaths from area 'B' is ridiculously inaccurate. Perhaps you could find out what is included in "police related deaths" in each area before professing to know what, if anything, the total figures depict?

It is not inaccurate. And before trying to discredit me with convolution and poor grammar, perhaps you'll look at the paper and see those breakdowns. The simple fact remains. One is more likely to die in BC from police contact than anywhere else in Canada. It is a disturbing trend across Canada.

[Donald G]

To WhatThe ...

Your comments give only a very small part of a much larger pictere. So be it.

[Treblehook]

It has been said that "statistics can be made to say whatever you want them to say". I don't doubt the veracity of that statement. For example: I have read a statistic that said significantly more than 50% of all prescriptions for medical marihuana [in Canada] were written for residents of British Columbia. Is that statistic correctly interpreted to mean that there are significantly more people in British Columbia who suffer from conditions that are treated through smoking pot; or, would the correct interpretation be there are significantly more people in BC who seek out physicians who will prescribe marihuana to treat a variety of medical conditions? It appears to me that you have simply opted to use the statistical report you presented to support your position that there are a disproportionate number of people dying in BC due to police violence. In order to do that you should present validated statistics specific to deaths directly attributed to police use of force. As I see it, you haven't. I am not suggesting there has been a marked attempt to mislead us here, but think we might all be served better if more effort were put into analyzing and interpreting the material you present. Finally, could you define police initiated deaths? Would that perhaps include the police shooting of an armed suspect who refuses to drop a weapon while advancing on the officers? And would that include all of those police shootings where an independent body has found no fault with the police actions?