Lets Have Some Questions Answered

By Ben Meisner

It is hard to believe that three police officers could speed, and  drive erratically,(keeping in mind that this is only an allegation) without one of the three suggesting to the other two that they are breaking the law. We must say these are allegations only because, the public has not been told what took place, whether charges were laid and why the officers are now suspended from driving.

It is hard to believe that someone who is hired to uphold the law can feel that they are somehow above that law.

It is even harder to believe that a police cruiser unable to catch three speeding motorcycles had to call off that pursuit for safety reasons and yet no infraction was written when they were finally stopped. It is hard to believe that none of the three should face charges of obstructing justice and dangerous driving if the accounts of the witnesses who reported their driving are to be believed.

But then consider this; dangerous driving is a criminal offence, so is obstruction of justice. Now we all know in the latter it is a catch all used by police for example in the Ian Bush death, where he was charged with obstruction of justice for giving a false name when asked by a police officer. Bush would have faced a record which would have prohibited him from visiting the USA and some other countries.

Now when you read the account of the Provincial Integrated Traffic Services looking for more witnesses as to the manner in which the trio was driving on May 15^th- at about 5.40pm. In which they talk about an officer "attempted to stop the three but did not engage in a pursuit." That suggests they were travelling too fast so the officer in question decided that, in the interest of safety, there would be no pursuit.

Now the second version issued yesterday says that North District Traffic services, working speed enforcement, encountered three motorcyclists, not quite the same as the original story. The manner of pursuit is handled also differently. In that, in the second release we are told the police officer saw that the trio were pulling away and the police officer ,”shut down”, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Then,”the officer radioed ahead to another police officer who stopped the three motorcycles”. Very careful here not to say that a road block had not been set up and if not, why not?

Why then were no charges laid at the scene of the trio being finally pulled over? Can you see yourself doing what has been described and not being written, at the very least a ticket, or facing a criminal charge?

The whole affair smacks of police media management. The event took place on May 15^th but not a peep until it was brought to light on July 21^st. Then a media release presented that would even get Brian Mulroney smiling.

The whole incident smells, and required more than a brush by investigation. The problem is however those investigations in the past few years which involved the RCMP have done little to deliver justice in the eyes of the public. This investigation will be the same. Police officers stopping police officers and then further investigating their own. It doesn’t have a good smell about it.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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