Sunday, January 25, 2009

They kill immigrants, don't they?

Off-duty cops in Vancouver are alleged to have robbed and severely beaten a deliveryman, saying as they whaled on the guy, "We don't like brown people, buddy."

“Thank goodness the city workers were there and someone called 911,” said Phil (Firoz) Khan, 47, his head bandaged after being repeatedly kicked by three assailants early last Wednesday in front of the Hyatt Vancouver hotel.

“I was lucky they were there,” he said. “I prayed to God. If this had happened in a back lane, I would be dead.”

At least they didn't use Tasers. But they apparently threatened to.

Other police arrived--and handcuffed the victim.

New witnesses have now come forward. Note the mention, once again, of Tasers:

"I wanted to jump in and get the one guy who was doing the punching off of the victim," said [one witness].

"But when they said they were police, I thought it's the last thing I want to do is get involved with this. What if they pull out a Taser and use it on me?"

"This investigation is being pursued aggressively and fully," says Vancouver police chief Jim Chu.

Uh-huh.
That would make a nice change. We'll see.

Apparently the whole thing is on a hotel security videotape, which has been seized by the police. How long does it take to watch it, I wonder?

The cops have citizens literally running scared, from coast to coast. In New Glasgow Digby last year, it was more off-duty officers, piling out of a van and chasing two young Blacks down a street for no apparent reason. A cop threw a punch at one of the men, who didn't cower submissively but fought back, knocking him out.

This was all caught on film. Members of the Black community who saw the tape shortly after the incident say it supports the young men's side of the story.The videotape is now safely in the hands of the RCMP, and will not be made available to the public.

The man who decked the cop was Tasered and charged with "resisting a police officer." The cop was charged too, and sat at a desk on full pay until this past Thursday, when charges against both men were dropped.

Cops with Tasers. Making Canada a safer place.

UPDATE: (January 27) Well, well. Police chief Jim Chu's rapid response makes a refreshing change from business as usual. A new broom sweeping clean?

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