Terri Theodore, Vancouver, B.C. – (Canadian Press) – Inside a cathartic letter to the mother of the man who died on the floor of Vancouver’s airport is a symbol of what the author says is the failing relationship between the RCMP and the public.
All four officers who confronted Robert Dziekanski the night he died were wearing black leather gloves – what Mounties call slash gloves.
They’re supposed to protect officers from having their hands pricked or cut by sharp objects, but Mike Webster, a police psychologist for three decades, explained in the letter to Zofia Cisowski that the gloves are worn by some to intimidate.
Webster testified recently at the inquiry into Dziekanski’s death.
Bystander video released after Dziekanski died shows the officers wearing the gloves and leaping over an airport railing. Within seconds one officer shocked the Polish immigrant with a Taser and Dziekanski fell to the floor screaming in pain.
In an interview, Webster said the gloves have become much more than protection from sharp objects.
“They’ve become another tool now, by the looks of things, in the members’ armoury. But they (RCMP members) don’t think very much about the effect they have on the public.”
Webster said police often fail to recognize how intimidating the gloves, or just their presence, can be for a member of the public.
“The first time you speak to a general-duty police person who’s got body armour on outside their shirt, it can take people’s breath away.”
While he said he understands the use for body armour, he doesn’t believe the gloves are necessary.
“I think that the idea behind using the gloves for a psychological effect is misplaced and just not part of good policing.”
Webster knows officers who wouldn’t walk through a bar without putting on the slash gloves because of the psychological effect it has on patrons and he has been told by other officers that they use the gloves to intimidate.
The gloves have a very thin layer of Kevlar under the leather, and RCMP spokesman Sgt. Tim Shields said they’re meant to prevent needle pricks or knife slashes.
“In front-line, uniform policing we encounter many, many people who, as we search them, we find they had sharp objects that could have cut our hands,” he said. “It’s just an officer safety thing.”
RCMP training does include the use of the gloves “where appropriate,” Shields said.
He said there have been dozens and dozens of incidents where police officers have been cut or pricked by a needle, including some where the needle contained HIV-positive body fluid.
Shields said it’s just wise and prudent if a police officer expects to put their hands on someone that they put the gloves on first.
It’s an argument Webster doesn’t buy, and in his business it’s called “catastroph-izing” an event.
Contrary to what others believe, he said, policing isn’t one of the most dangerous jobs in the community.
He said most organizations that gather such statistics rank policing around 15th, well behind taxi drivers, construction workers, fishermen and loggers.
Instead, he said in his open letter, the gloves are a symbol of the RCMP executives’ relationship with the public.
“So in a perverse way we can understand the climate in which the Taser was so warmly embraced by the RCMP decision makers and is so enthusiastically deployed by its loyal members,” his letter states.
Shields said RCMP officers aren’t trained to see the gloves as intimidating, but added if they prevent violence then that’s a victory.
“Because our goal is to save lives, it’s to prevent violence. There are many times we have to arrest somebody,” he said.
“If we can do that without resorting to violence through having a greater show of force, then that’s a win-win for everybody.”
Webster said up until Dziekanski’s death, he and many in the RCMP were asleep to the failing relationship between the force and the public.
“I think the RCMP is at a crossroads in its history,” he said.
“It’s time for somebody to say something and see if we can’t salvage this relationship between a Canadian icon and its public.”
I will advise my Shihan that you (or perhaps the internet) respectfully disagree with him.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
3
Most of us agree the gloves are required and black goes with the rest of the uniform.
As far as the black belt debate goes please see below:
Origin
“The systematic use of belt color to denote rank was first used by Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo, who first devised the colored belt system using obi, and awarded the first black belts to denote a Dan rank in the 1880s. Initially the wide obi was used; as practitioners trained in kimono, only white and black obi were used. It was not until the early 1900s, after the introduction of the judogi, that an expanded colored belt system of awarding rank was created.[2] Other martial arts later adopted the custom or variation on it (e.g. using colored sashes) to denote rank including in arts that traditionally did not have a formalized rank structure. This kind of ranking is less common in arts that do not claim a far eastern origin, though it is used in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.
[edit] Misconceptions
One common idea concerning the tradition of belts claims that the belt ranking system is an ancient aspect of traditional martial arts and that early martial artists began their training with a white belt, which eventually became stained black from years of sweat, dirt, and blood”.
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
Hot debate. What do you think?
1 
7
No to be to picky Calvin, but the origins of the black belt for martial arts stems from the origins of martial arts. The most senior and experienced practitioners would tie and untie the belt for many years and the belt would slowly turn black with age and dirt accumulation. The advent of colors is a more recent convention so that those that enlisted (payed) to take various martial arts could see progress. Strictly a monetary/social manifestation. It is no accident that the largest business in martial arts is tae kwon do, and they also have the most belt colors/stripes of any modern form.
Otherwise, your point of the “menacing manner” is well taken and could apply to any part of the kit associated with the police (as my hyperbole suggested). It is the manner, bearing and intention of the wearer of items that should be the focus.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
4
Funny thing is that the first people I knew to go out and buy these gloves were the biggest idots. The lazy, the back stabbers, and the trouble makers. Often the workplace gang bullies. Maybe there is something to the good Dr’s theory…
Hot debate. What do you think?
6 
4
DT:
Isn’t that what the bad guys wore in Roy Rogers?
I remember that. The good guys had the white hats that never came off in the fights and the bad guy wore black hats. This is not as we say as black and white as it seems. In this part of world black is considered negative and white is considered positive for the most part. If you take a closer look you will see that other parts of the world has had an influence regarding black and white. For example, in martial arts the progression is from white belt to black belt. Judges wear black robes in court. Remove the colour debate. It is too confusing.
Quote:
“While he said he understands the use for body armour, he doesn’t believe the gloves are necessary”.
I can remember working the patrol wagon while being a member of Halifax City Police. (1969 to 1978) We would arrest approximately twenty or thirty people a shift for being intoxicated . Each one was searched with no gloves. We washed our hands but we were not facing the drugs (needles) or diseases that we have today.
Slash poof gloves are also an important part of safety. We live in a knife culture. The gloves ARE necessary!!
The problem arises when police officers put them on in a menacing manner. This was witnessed on a video of an Ottawa City Police Officer pulling on his gloves before approaching a member of the public that ended in a confrontation.
The vest, baseball cap, sunglasses, combat boots, beards, duty belt with batons, guns, tasers and GLOVES, means that the police officer has to learn to talk more effectively.
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
8 
1
Pink will go nicely with the Red Serge as they march in the Gay Pride Parade in Vancouver. An altogether simple solution. Perhaps the tasers could be pink and blue instead of wasp yellow and black? Perhaps you would agree that the bright yellow color suggests the sting of an angry hornet, and therefore too intimidating? And those angry black belts made of squeaking leather, black batons, and black MP5s for the tactical teams. Surely they could consult with one of the major designers and come up with something less intimidating than all that black stuff. Isn’t that what the bad guys wore in Roy Rogers?
Hot debate. What do you think?
4 
7
CLC:
Duties of Employers
General duty of employer
124. Every employer shall ensure that the health and safety at work of every person employed by the employer is protected.
R.S., 1985, c. L-2, s. 124; R.S., 1985, c. 9 (1st Supp.), s. 4; 2000, c. 20, s. 5.
Duties of Employees
Health and safety matters
126. (1) While at work, every employee shall
(a) use any safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing that are intended for the employee’s protection and furnished to the employee by the employer or that are prescribed;
Offences and Punishment
General offence
148. (1) Subject to this section, every person who contravenes a provision of this Part is guilty of an offence and liable
(a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, or to both; or
(b) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $100,000.
Hot debate. What do you think?
9 
3
Actually, I always think that the officer in question looks kinda uncomfortable wearing the kevlar on outside their shirt but I suspect that its more comfortable than wearing it underneath (I felt really sorry for a young Mountie I talked to back in the hot summer of 2006 in Cash Creek B.C.; the air conditioning in his cruiser had broken down and the guy stopped in to get a bottle of water, he looked really uncomfortable in that vest). Going back to Sir Robert Peel, we have generally striven to draw a line in the sand between the police (a civilian organization) and the military. Webster may be responding to that instinct.
Oh, I checked the latest designs of open-flapped security holsters and they have improved on them since the one retaining strap. My bad.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
7 
0
With all due respect to Webster, the RCMP falls under the CLC now and must abide by its rules and regulations. Safety equipment that is available must be provided and worn or the supervisors of workers are subject to penalty. Maybe a different color would help Mr Webster with his analysis.
He agrees that body armour is necessary: “While he said he understands the use for body armour, he doesn’t believe the gloves are necessary.” Why not run the numbers and see how many times an officer encounters sharp or pointy objects or dirty/contaminated conditions as opposed to being shot at? which is more likely??
“The first time you speak to a general-duty police person who’s got body armour on outside their shirt, it can take people’s breath away.” Really? I don’t think so.
Hot debate. What do you think?
8 
4
I remember reading something about this some years ago. So what happen to Ken Smith’s case anyways? Wasn’t he suppose to go to civil court with this case with a retired RCMP now Lawyer from Brampton?… How did it go with this case anyways…. ???
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
3 
4
Alcan, this is a link to the Ken Smith story. It is appropriately titled “Operation Harassment”.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/rcmp/operation_harassment.html
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
3 
2
Ken Smith?… who is he?
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
1 
0
Actually Alcan, the reason that the RCMP stuck with the full-flap military-style clamshell holster for so long was a mixture of tradition and the fact that the Mounties are always somewhat underfunded. The RCMP in B.C. were still using the clamshell holsters in B.C. in the late 1980s long after all the municipal agencies, the two railway police forces, the B.C. sherrifs, and employees of armoured car companies had switched over to modern security holsters.
I do not know that anyone was ever intimidated by the “sudden” appearance of “naked” revolver grips in police holsters. Lets face it, we all watch American Cop shows on TV and were exposed to uniformed cops carrying their revolvers in security holsters long before our police began transitioning over to them. Even the switch to semiautomatic pistols was not as widely debated in Canada as one would have thought.
Though you do have a point about the behaviour of the four officers at the airport. It does disturb me that these four guys just didn’t merely tackle Dziekanski and slap the cuffs on him. I once saw four deputy sherrifs in the Surrey courthouse tackle a man who was acting like Dzienkanski had been acting the airport (and was much bigger and tougher looking). They quickly had him pinned and in handcuffs. The RCMP officers in the airport could have done that.
The inquiry is wrapping up and Braidwood will comment on everything.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
4 
3
The new black open holsters have 3 levels of retention, not just the one strap.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
3 
2
Alcan, I think what they did was a form of Mobbing. It is funny, but this is the very thing that goes on inside the RCMP, except the bullying relies on rumor and innuendo. The very thing that happened to Ken Smith or what happened to those who blew the whistle on the pension fund. This stuff is the tip of the iceburg.
Instead of a set of black gloves, it is like an “iron fist hidden in a velvet glove” when this stuff occurs.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
2 
4
The reason for the old full-flap military-style “clamshell” holsters was yes for security reasons but better still it was used also not to be threatening or intimidating when a police officer showed up but that PR is out the window in todays police forces thrown out for lets suit up for war here….
In my opinion I guess they have watched to many movies and seen too many videos at the training academy or, one to much and they are running scared….. after all who needs four police officers when one good one could easily have done a better job.
Is this arrest at the B.C. Airport like what is happening in our schools today? Is this like MOBBING?
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
3 
2
Turner, on the holster topic the old full-flap military-style “clamshell” holsters did make it harder for an assailant to grab a police officer’s sidearm but it was also slower for a police officer to draw his/her sidearm in an emergency situation. Modern security holsters are designed so that the retaining strap can be easily broken by the officer but are not so easy to break if an assailant try’s to grab the officer’s handgun. All police officers in Canada are taught weapon retention in their perspective academies. Of course, nothing is perfect and accidents can happen.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
2 
1
Turner has a great point when he speaks of the RCMP and Orwell. Being an organization that at so obsessed with image, “reality control” is bound to happen. In the RCMP you don’t have the freedom to say 2+2=4.
The concept of team work is gone starting with the pathetic “everyman for himself” training that starts in Depot. If anything cadets are taught divide and conquer and to eat their own. Hard work and comradare were some of the cornerstones of the outfit. Now it is cover your ass, backstabbing and dragging others down because it is easier than working harder to get ahead.
Community policing is another great term the force employes. Now more than ever members are choosing to not live in the commuities they serve in or get involved in the community doing such things as minor hockey. But, they have all the right sybolism and make all the right noises. But, anyone with any brains can see through this!
And another thing! In my opinion the feminization of this organization was the beginning of the end. It has been going on for years. Men are expected to act like women and women are supposed to act like men. Women can be as crude as they want and sleep with everyone, but when a man does it is cause for concern.
You know why they haven’t banned the tazer yet, and never will? It is because it’s deployment puts women on a level playing field with men. Yes, in the politically correct world of policing, it doesn’t matter how many people die from the thing, as long as the advisory council on the status of women is happy with the recruitment and retention numbers.
What happens if you tell the truth about this?-you get screwed. If you say you don’t believe in all this crap like pepper spray and tasers you are treated like the odd man out and thought of as some archaiac cowboy who lives in the past.
Well real men get their hands dirty! Real men are not afraid of a few bumps and bruises! Real men made the RCMP what it was and they are the only ones who are going to make it respectable again. We will see that once the RCMP ceases telling everyone that 2+2 does not equal four.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
5 
2
I agree that the glove issue is used more for the “authoritarian look” other than practical purposes of a lawful search. How often does the ordinary cop on patrol conduct a body search?
Frankly speaking, too many of these police hires have been raised on television police drama stories where all the fantasy action takes place in one hour. So, in their usual day to day routine activities, some real cops are essentially role playing the mirror-image of dramatic actors.
This militarized “them & us” attitude does not equate well with the descriptive word of “service” which is in wide use today. In fact, the “service” appears to becoming more Orwellian in practice…..meaning, that in reality, the encroaching state police apparatus uses simple phrases to mask their increasing authoritarian intentions.
On the gun holster topic, the flap holster was more superior, if only for safety reasons…..it was not so easily accessible for an assailant to grab for it.
Hot debate. What do you think?
6 
4
The guy just got off a plane for God sakes! I wonder how many security checkpoints he must have went though in various countries while in route to Vancouver.
If this were some crack head or junkie on the streets of Surrey, I could see where gloves might come in handy. Them running around with gloves at an Airport is like a scene out of Paul Blart the “Mall Cop”.
Speaking of the mall cop mentality, maybe they wear gloves because it makes them feel like a real cop because they are percieved as duds for being sent to an airport. Gloves are like the first sign of an inferiority complex in a cop. A guy I know who was sent to Pearson Airport was the first idiot in his troop at Depot to go out and buy a pair of them. His reasoning was all the drugs he was going to encounter. Yeah, customs makes the bust and he shows up to do the paperwork!
Hot debate. What do you think?
7 
4
RCMP explain their use of slash gloves
Edmonton/ iNews880.com
5/23/2009
The RCMP says the black leather gloves are used to protect officers from having their hands pricked or cut by sharp objects.
But veteran police psychologist Mike Webster who testified recently at the inquiry into Robert Dziekanski’s death, says the gloves are worn by some to intimidate members of the public.
All four officers who confronted Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport the night he died in 2007 were wearing black leather gloves – what Mounties call slash gloves.
In an interview, Webster says the gloves have become another tool now in the officers’ armoury.
Webster, who has sent an open letter to Dziekanski’s mother, says officers often fail to recognize how intimidating the gloves, or just their presence, can be for the public.
He says he knows officers who wouldn’t walk through a bar without putting on the slash gloves because of the psychological effect it has on patrons and he’s been told by other officers that they use the gloves to intimidate.
But RCMP spokesman Sergeant Tim Shields says there have been many incidents where police officers have been cut or pricked by a needle, including some where the needle contained HIV-positive body fluid.
Shields says RCMP training does include the use of the gloves “where appropriate.”
It’s an argument Webster doesn’t buy.
My Thoughts on the Glove issue is if they need them to protect them from share objects paint them PINK and see how often they wear them
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
5 
2
Police psychologists working with the LAPD in the 1970s noted what became known as the “John Wayne Syndrome” amongst LA cops. They noted that many young officers who exhibited behaviour noted in this syndrome often wore black gloves.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
4 
1
I would think that the 9mm pistola hanging from the hip would be more intimidating than a pair of gloves. Come to think of it, why is the RCMP holster gear now black and shows the gun? Did it not used to be a nice soft brown color, and had a flap over the gun so you could not see it? And you know, when you look at the Russian military, those big hats seem pretty intimidating to. And why should the cops wear those hats they have anyway? A nice friendly ball cap would seem better fitted in today’s society. I will tell you whats really intimidating is those big boots that shine like a mirror and have spurs on them. Didn’t the nazis wear them in the SS? Did you know that they patterned their uniforms after the RCMP? Historical fact.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
3 
3
In my opinion they are really out of touch. Who is responsible for all this stuff being missed anyways?
If the gloves are to protect them against sharp objects (would this mean staplers too) then why zap someone with a something that can probably take down a horse when four fully armed, fully trained police officers show up?
About the RCMP being unhappy about the letter sent to Robert’s mother, what else is new?
If it doesn’t agree with their findings they flick it off as irrelevant and unimportant and try and make it look like the guy is a nut.
How would anyone actually believe members of the RCMP behave poorly and use those gloves badly unless you saw the video and believed every word they say.
I’m just not that gullable right now sorry.
Do you Like or Dislike the above comment:
5 
2