I'm so happy for Const. Slemko. He's a beautiful man for the work he does. They all need to be like him...sniff, sniff :) It's because of smart, experienced, caring members like him that I still believe there is good within the force. B.C. could sure use you!

I love this! My sister just sent this to me. We both care about what happens to Joe Slemko and have him in our google alerts...

:)

"Although Slemko said he will not accept the medal from Boyd -who he said never supported him until the media made it an issue - he said he will accept it from colleague Const. Steve Wells. On a point of principle, Wells refused to accept his 20-year exemplary service award until Slemko received his."

Heidi old girl...you fall in love WAY to easily!
:-)

Oh come on....you know you love Joe too....it's okay to say it out loud... lol..

;) Have a good weekend Andyfreeze

lol..too funny.

Wow, sounds like a couple of guys I would have liked to work with. Too bad they are the exception, not the rule.

I just can't believe how they jerk this guy around, I don't know how he keeps his head on straight.

It says some frightening things though, when the police own the only person who may be able to prove your innocence, and they will not allow him to testify in your defence.

Does anything ever change ?
Howe about the pursuit of truth and blind justice instead of the pursuit of "convict anybody".

If I were Joe, I'd run that medal through the bomb squad before taking it home.

Is this really news? There are thousands of good decent policeman out there. The vast majority of them , unlike Slemko ,do not feel the need to be in the glare of the media and quietly attend to their daily duties. After his opinion was fed right back to him by Paul Kennedy you would think that he would fade back into his normal routine. Cheers.

He posted here once. Good luck to him. The Province reported a threat against Slemko, as issued by a Vancouver Police sergeant. Don't need that.

BTW: I have attended some sessions of the Frank Paul Inquiry. They are addressing the reasons why an intoxicated man, wet with urine, was dragged out of the city lockup and dumped in an alley, where he died of exposure.

First disclosure: when cops first reported his death to his family, they said he was struck by a car. Second disclosure, when police investigate each other, they omit the standard charge recommendation. That is hardly fair. No citizenry would grant impunity to paid, protective surrogates.

"There are thousands of good decent policeman out there. The vast majority of them , unlike Slemko ,do not feel the need to be in the glare of the media and quietly attend to their daily duties."

Very intelligent post, Pete. Correct on all counts.

To be fair to Joe, I think the controversy brought the media to him, initially. I think the media attention simply turned into a means of defending himself and pushing back against the undue influence he was under.

Also, the thousands of good and decent police personnel (men and women) need to start taking a more active role in cleaning up their ranks. You can't just stand by and hope it will go away. Peer pressure is a very effective tool, but it must be applied, in order for it to work.

How many good and decent members gave Cst. Colleen Erickson a pat on the back for her contradictory testimony against another member ?

(i.e.) Way to go Colleen ! Uphold the right !

I agree thereasonableman!
I doubt Slemko went looking for the spotlite, but considering the flack he took for attempting to tell the truth based on his extensive experience,he handled it very well.
Sometimes if nobody WANTS to hear the truth, there is not much point in even trying.
I am sure there is MUCH more he could have said in regards to those who would rather he kept his mouth shut!
And cops like Colleen Erickson are a rare breed.
I am sure there are others,but unfortunately, sometimes it is safer to keep your mouth shut and swallow the pill rather than stand up in defense of what is right.
Colleen did and she is paying for now.
That in itself is a blow to the image of ALL cops everywhere.
We can only hope the guts and honesty she showed will not be in vain.

It doesn’t matter to you folks how it happened. You are basing your opinion on sentiment and speculation. If you attended the inquest and studied the commission report it would soon become evident that Slemko’s findings contained inconsistencies. He clearly left his sphere of expertise. It is a practice of the foolish to rely on the media for any sort of balanced information. Lastly, the RCMP slogan is “Maintain the right” not “ Uphold the right”.

Why don't we compromise...
Maybe, it's "Uphold Pete Being Right" ?

Wow, you'll argue about ANYTHING stupid. I'm beginning to think maybe you're more part of the problem, than part of the solution.

I'm not playing into your childish schoolyard debates about nothing. I have qualified myself to the people that need to know, and you are not among them.

My main point (absolutely ignored by yourself, as always) was that nobody supported or appeared to support Colleen.

My honest opinion ?....
If I were the NCO I/C - Vanderhoof Detachment, I would have immediately called a press conference, addressed the discrepancy between testimonies in some way, and expressed continued support to Cst. Colleen for her courage and integrity.

Do you have any idea whatsoever, how many miles of good public image that would have bought the force right then and there ?

You would have drastically increased public confidence in the RCMP at a time when it was in dire need of such.

Once again, you demonstrate contempt for the people you purport to serve, when it is the people that give you your powers. In Canada, there are 33M-odd citizens, and 16K-odd RCMP members. Who has the power over who ?

You could really stand to read up on the history, development and concept of policing, not to mention a law book or two. Then, you might truly understand my foolish posts. Most of the things I say came right out of foolish books I have read, and foolish educational institutions I have attended, as well as the foolish experiences I have had.

Clearly, I don't know what the heck I am talking about though, because I can't even get the slogan right...even though there are currently about 17 different interpretations of how "Maintiens Le Droit" is translated into english.

Even the RCMP can't decide, because in my day it was "Uphold the Right" and now their new interpretation is "Defending the Law".

It all seems just so foolish.

I have no wish to debate with you. You imply through your posts that through education and experience, you have an understanding of the policing world. Clearly you do not. How do you come to the conclusion that Cst.Erickson did not receive any support? Rumours, media, coffee shop talk? Again, more speculation on your part. As for the suggestion that the NCO i/c of the Vanderhoof detachment provide the media with a blow by blow account of statement discrepancies, this is simply ludicrous at best. Stick to what you know and not what you can speculate about. On the upside you seem to possess the qualities of a good old fashioned Canadian tabloid writer.

You may find the following Blog dialogue between myself and an anonymous RCMP member interesting: http://ualbertalaw.typepad.com/faculty/2008/02/joe-slemko-repo.html.

Sorry, if you cut and paste the above link you have to remove the period from the end for it to work.....force of habit

"I have no wish to debate with you."

I don't believe you.

"Stick to what you know and not what you can speculate about."

I'll speculate about any damn thing I want, whether it pleases you or not.

You are obviously afraid of the things that I say, which lends me credibility nonetheless.

Thanks Joe, I followed all the threads too.
Sounds like Pete. Maybe he's really an RCMP tabloid writer.

Criminal Defence 101:

Exclude as much evidence as possible, and mitigate the rest. (some will say "piss all over the rest" or water it down)

If you didn't have something valid to say, they would not waste such vast amounts of time trying desperately to discredit you.

Look at Pete, he hangs anxiously on my every word, in spite of the fact that he claims he doesn't have the time to waste. He'd accuse me of spelling RCMP wrong.

I think he should reload, he's out of ammo.

Congratulations on your award Joe, and your integrity.

I followed the threads as well. Thank you for the link. Interesting website. I am not attempting to discredit Mr. Slemko’s work , what he does or what he stands for. I agree with the findings of Mr.Kennedy. That is my opinion. Mr Slemko has been a policeman for many years and I guarantee that he is used to criticism. It comes with the job. Reasonableman I am not afraid of the things that you say. Your talents of speculation are rather amusing to say the least.