Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Video Shows Montreal Police Officer Threatening Panhandler

Montreal police have acknowledged the existence of a video on YouTube that shows a verbal altercation between an officer and an apparently homeless man dressed in shorts and a T-shirt on the coldest day of the winter so far.

The cellphone video, posted on Jan. 2 to YouTube, shows an officer telling the man (speaking French) that four people have complained about him because he was behaving aggressively while asking for change.

The officer continues, telling the man he has to calm down and find a place to warm up. Then he tells the man he swears he will tie him to a pole for an hour if he gets another complaint.

Ns avons pris connaissance de la vidéo, propos sont inacceptables, ns donnons suite. Cmdt du PDQ rencontrera le policier dans les proch. hrs

— Police Montréal (@SPVM) January 3, 2014
In English translation, the tweet above from Montreal police reads: "We have been made aware of the video, remarks are unacceptable, we're following up. Commander of the neighbourhood police station will meet with the officer in the next few hours."

Mayor Denis Coderre also commented about the video on Twitter:

propos du policier sont inacceptables.Cmdt va prendre les mesures qui s'imposent Suis soucieux de la condition de l'itinérant présentement

— DenisCoderre (@DenisCoderre) January 3, 2014
In English translation, Coderre says, "The police officer's remarks are unacceptable. Commander is taking necessary measures. Am concerned about the homeless man's condition."

The person who posted the video to YouTube said it was shot outside the Jean-Talon Metro station around 3 p.m. ET.


Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: cbc

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