Allo Police

This one looks like it will be a regular feature from now on. Our police, in their various jursidictions and guises across the country, are the gift that simply keeps on giving.

The good: No Tasers this time, no deaths; the RCMP was on its best behaviour. After all, the media were present, and they can cover more visual angles than a cellphone. The horsemen were at Conservative Party headquarters to help Elections Canada document a scandal that promises to be a fine lead-up to an election--if Dion ever gets the nerve to force one. But time is of the essence. Remember that former RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli leaked the news of an RCMP investigation of the Liberals at just the right moment. Don't wait and see how this thing turns out, Stéphane--be a good political actor and bring down the House.

The bad: Transit cops in Vancouver are using Tasers when passengers don't pay their fares. The Solicitor-General of a province that has seen a slew of Taser-related killings in the past few years says it's not his problem--the passengers can always complain. To a board loaded with other cops.

The ugly: Ottawa cops decided to take no chances with a ten-year-old kid who'd been making noise in his apartment. They entered with guns drawn, allegedly told the frightened child that if he'd had a knife in his hand they would have Tasered him (and that's no idle threat, I suspect), handcuffed him, causing minor injuries, threatened to take him away from his parents, and called him a "bitch." A police spokesperson says the family can always complain.

Just another week in the life of our paramilitaries, serving and protecting.