Close X
Thursday, November 7, 2024
ADVT 
National

Saskatoon Police Chief Sees No Racism In The Work His Officers Do

The Canadian Press, 11 Dec, 2015 10:45 AM
    SASKATOON — RCMP Commission Bob Paulson has admitted there are racist officers on the force, but Saskatoon's police chief says he doesn't believe racist views are being translated through the work his officers do.
     
    Chief Clive Weighill's comment came Thursday as the city's board of police commissioners considered a report on the practice of street checks, where officers stop and question people out of a "reasonable suspicion" of criminal activity.
     
    Weighill defended the practice but a small group of protesters attended the meeting and stood and turned their backs when the matter was being discussed as a sign of their opposition.
     
    When they refused to sit, they were asked to leave.
     
    Outside the meeting, the protesters said the street checks are disproportionately used on aboriginals, people of colour and poor people.
     
    Earlier this week, Paulson admitted to a meeting of chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Que., that there are racists on his police force, adding he doesn't want them there and urging delegates to report any abuses.
     
    The matter has also been at the forefront in Ontario, where the province is trying to legislate street checks, which are also called "carding."
     
    Weighill said some of the proposed rules in Ontario aren't practical, including one that would force officers to tell people being questioned that they have the right to walk away.
     
    "We drive up and say, 'ok, guys, how are you tonight? What are you up to? By the way, you don't have to tell us anything,' " said Weighill. "What do you think the response is going to be? They're not going to tell us anything."
     
    He insisted his officers don't target certain ethnic groups when stopping people on the street, but some of the protesters said that's not the case.
     
    Eileen Bear said she was recently on her way to a knitting class when a police officer pulled over and started questioning her.
     
    He asked her what her name was and although she at first tried to assert her rights she said she caved when a second officer got out of the vehicle. Bear said she was then asked to help identify people on a list of names, but she refused and walked away.
     
    "Carding disproportionately targets indigenous people and peoples of colour as well as poor white people," said protester Kota Kimura, who helps organize a group opposed to police violence.
     
    He said he believes officers tend to act off society's prejudices.
     
    "We have to be able to ask people what they're doing," said Weighill. "Otherwise, we might as well just be sitting in the police building at night, and then after you have been victimized, we'll go out and take your report and drive back in again."
     
    The street check report said the force in Saskatoon will put together a policy once the work of the provincial police commission and the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police is done.
     
    But Weighill said given the fact that work has just begun, it could be some time before a policy is put in place.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Alberta Couple Allowed By Court To Keep Brain-dead Daughter Alive For A Month

    Alberta Couple Allowed By Court To Keep Brain-dead Daughter Alive For A Month
    LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — A couple in Lethbridge, Alta., will have a little more time with their eight-month-old daughter after a judge delayed a decision to take her off of life support.

    Alberta Couple Allowed By Court To Keep Brain-dead Daughter Alive For A Month

    B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan Says Clear Vision Helping Party Expose Liberal Weaknesses

    B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan Says Clear Vision Helping Party Expose Liberal Weaknesses
    Horgan says he will continue to support energy alternatives to the Liberals' $9-billion Site C hydroelectric dam.

    B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan Says Clear Vision Helping Party Expose Liberal Weaknesses

    Canadian Health Care Wait Times Need Improvement, Fraser Institute Reports Say

    Canadian Health Care Wait Times Need Improvement, Fraser Institute Reports Say
    Two separate reports being released Tuesday have used different strategies to reach the same conclusion — Canada's health care wait times leave much to be desired.

    Canadian Health Care Wait Times Need Improvement, Fraser Institute Reports Say

    Justin Trudeau Liberals Planning To Give RCMP Right To Collective Bargaining

    Justin Trudeau Liberals Planning To Give RCMP Right To Collective Bargaining
    OTTAWA — RCMP officers would be allowed to engage in collective bargaining under legislation to be introduced by the Liberal government.

    Justin Trudeau Liberals Planning To Give RCMP Right To Collective Bargaining

    Sen. Mike Duffy Finally Takes To Witness Box To Testify In Own Defence

    Sen. Mike Duffy Finally Takes To Witness Box To Testify In Own Defence
    OTTAWA — Sen. Mike Duffy has finally begun testifying in his own defence against 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery.

    Sen. Mike Duffy Finally Takes To Witness Box To Testify In Own Defence

    Physician, Heal Thyself: MDs Willing To Help Patients Die May Face Emotional Fallout

    Physician, Heal Thyself: MDs Willing To Help Patients Die May Face Emotional Fallout
    In just weeks, barring an extension from the Supreme Court that would alter the timetable, Canadian doctors will enter a new era in the practice of medicine — one that gives them the legal right to help patients with unbearable suffering to end their lives.

    Physician, Heal Thyself: MDs Willing To Help Patients Die May Face Emotional Fallout