Michael Platt (Opinion, Calgary Sun) – Sometimes, sorry isn’t good enough.
In the case of the RCMP, now in a position of having apparently brutalized an innocent man last month in Kelowna, B.C., sorry doesn’t even come close.
This past week, the charges against Buddy Tavares, the brain-injured man savagely kicked in the face while trying to obey an arresting Mountie, were stayed due to a lack of evidence.
That same day, Tavares — originally accused by police of carelessly welding a shotgun during a “domestic violence situation” — received a home visit and an apology from RCMP Assistant Commissioner Peter Hourihan.
“The point of my visit here today was specifically to meet with Mr. Tavares and tell him that, on behalf of the RCMP, I apologize for the physical injuries he received from one of our officers on January 7th, 2011 in Kelowna,” said Hourihan.
Hourihan, promoted to the rank of top B.C. Mountie in November, went on to say that as the new commanding officer, he wouldn’t tolerate poor treatment of citizens by his police.
“I want our employees to make sure that those we serve can always say that they felt they were treated fairly and with respect. I expect every single employee in the RCMP in B.C. to live up to that expectation.”
Like the sorry, mere words aren’t good enough — an apology and vow to respect citizens are nothing more than empty platitudes, if Hourihan doesn’t follow up with action.
It’s like teaching a child that sorry should include an attempt to make amends, such as returning something that isn’t yours or helping the kid you shoved to stand up.
Hourihan must show that this apology and promise are real, and to do that, he needs to order a public inquiry into the whole sordid affair.
Making amends in this case means more than ensuring the officer responsible faces justice.
RCMP Const. Geoff Mantler has been suspended from duty over the apparently unprovoked kick, which left Tavares with a battered face and severely blackened eye.
Abbotsford police, called in to investigate the matter, have recommended a charge of assault causing bodily harm against Mantler — and it’s up to the Crown to proceed.
With a graphic video of the arrest, including Tavares’ attempt to get down on the ground seconds before the officer kicks his head like a football, the Crown can hardly claim lack of evidence.
With that trial certain to proceed, B.C.’s top cop must now restore public confidence with an inquiry into exactly how Tavares came to be stopped by police after an alleged call about an armed man near a golf course.
Why alleged?
Because there are now questions about why RCMP charged Tavares at all.
Soon after the arrest, police made reputation-damaging statements about Tavares’ supposed involvement in domestic violence.
Apparently, none of it was true. The seemingly stitched-together case against Tavares started to unravel even as he was in hospital, when the ex-Mrs. Tavares stepped forward to say there was no such incident.
Tavares and Trudi Tavares worked at the same golf course and his duties included scaring away geese with a shotgun.
She has publicly stated there was no domestic conflict involving her former husband.
Police then tried to claim Tavares had no permission to be shooting blank rounds at the course, but even that has been denied by Tavares and his lawyer.
Was it a smear campaign to whitewash the allegations of police brutality?
That’s what The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has claimed in an official complaint filed with the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.
With the staying of all charges against Tavareslast week, they aren’t the only ones questioning RCMP motives following Tavares’ arrest.
To make his apology and promise to restore faith more than empty words, Assistant Commissioner Hourihan needs to provide a public and open answer to this apparent muckraking against the victim.
One officer faces charges for leaving Tavares in a bloody heap on a Kelowna street, but the conduct of RCMP after that gruesome arrest has left the entire police force with a black eye of its own.
To make amends, Hourihan must order a public inquiry.
Saying sorry isn’t enough.
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“Would it be collaboration if you did nothing?”
No it would not, because when you collaborate, by definition, you work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor. So to do nothing, you would not be actually doing anything and doing nothing together does not satisfy the ‘work’ aspect.
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Wouldn’t the “collaborative action” by collegues possibly be deemed “mobbing”? Perhaps johnnyG could provide some input on that.
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“The point is the “domestic violence” was only brought up to try to paint Buddy in a bad light to the public.”
That has not been established.
“Even though there was absolutely no grounds for that statement it was made. ”
That has not been established.
“The solution is a (SIC) immediate internal investigation that does not take countless years to hold, dismissal of all members involved in this incident including the press conference and a acceptable settlement to buddy.”
The BCCL has filed a complaint with the CPC. What this means D is that they will send the demand for an internal and/or criminal investigation to the RCMP and then will monitor its progress, review the investigation and make their own determination.
I doubt very much you would get a dismissal for hastily drawn conclusions or misinterpretation of information put out prematurely to the press. The press spokesperson for any organization only parrots the information supplied to them. So it is your desire that that person if wrongly informed as to the facts should be dismissed? Really? And how would you have your press person verify all the information given to him/her before release? Perhaps a committee to review the information? But what if members on the committee are part of the conspiracy? Then it would take too long to get out. How long are willing to wait for information on things of this nature? We need a poll.
Perhaps if there was a conspiracy hatched in the dark rooms of the police office to determinedly attack Mr. Tavares, you could get a measure of satisfaction, but only if you could prove the allegations in a courtroom.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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If, as in D’s idealized but unrealistic black-and-white world, every member of the RCMP who is ever “involved” in any way in any wrongdoing, deliberate or otherwise, is dismissed, or somehow “made” to quit through some unspecified collaberative action by their co-workers, the RCMP would rapidly cease to exist altogether. Most of us wouldn’t make it past the 6 month mark. Perhaps D could apply? His apparent psychic powers would be a huge asset.
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The writer is correct that an apology isn’t good enough. Unfortunately Hourihan hasn’t the authority to offer anything else. Cst. Mantler will be charged and dealt with by the courts for his assault on Mr. Tavares and I suspect he’ll receive a cash settlement.
Holding another public inquiry isn’t the answer either and again Hourihan doesn’t have the authority to call one. After many costly months what would the inquiry tell us? That Cst. Mantler shouldn’t have hoofed Mr. Tavares in the head for no earthly reason? Well we all know that – we’ve seen the video.
As for follow-through there’s not a lot more that Hourihan can do to ensure this sort of thing never happens again. All he can do is ensure that members who commit assaults are dealt with in court like any other offender. What he needs to do is call an investigation into how falsehoods about the golf course “incident” came to be treated as facts and disseminated to the media. Then he should put in place some checks and balances aimed at ensuring that information released to the press is accurate. Something along the lines of “if you’re not sure say nothing.”
Also, its shameful that the charges against Mr. Tavares were stayed by the Crown due to a lack of evidence. If there wasn’t sufficient evidence the court package should never have left the detachment. Establishing whether there’s sufficient evidence is rookie-level stuff. I’d be curious to know if Kelowna Detachment supervisors have a policy of reviewing court files before they go to the Crown? And what was the rush to file charges before all the facts were in? That should be another area Hourihan looks into. Once he’s done these things he should make public what he learned and what he’s done about it.
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