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Justice vs. Verdict

I’ve been following the sex assault trial of Steve Desjourdy, the Ottawa police officer who cut off the t-shirt and bra of a young woman while she was pinned to the cell block floor by several other officers. This case made headlines a few years ago, and I blogged about it more than once.

The young […]

Safe injection sites: Treating people with addictions like they matter

Last October, the Supreme Court ruled that Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site, could stay open despite the Harper Government’s objections. The arguments hinged on whether addiction was primarily a health issue or a crime issue. If it were a health matter it would fall under provincial jurisdiction; if it were a criminal code issue, it […]

Maybe police brutality IS standard operating procedure

I’ve been thinking more about the Roxanne Carr videos. About the way she was handled by the police in the cell block. The officers seemed so calm and methodical, as if they were just following proper procedure. They didn’t seem to be angry or out of control. Add to this the fact that the Acting […]

Roxanne Carr cell block footage released

The videos of Roxanne Carr being checked into the Ottawa Police cell block are now public. You can see them here.

Roxanne Carr left the following comment on my blog, on the Bank Street Bully post, in December, 2008. I haven’t edited it at all, other than to add paragraph breaks for ease of reading.

My name […]

And yet another one

Cellphone snatched by police, man claims.

To be a good cop you have to be a decent human being

I’m starting to feel ever so slightly sorry for the Ottawa police. Not all of them, mind you. Just the good apples. The ones who don’t abuse their power, kick homeless people, strip sex workers naked in public, beat anybody up, or sexually assault women in their custody.

And honestly, I do believe that there […]

Ottawa sex workers report systemic discrimination by police

POWER (Prostitutes of Ottawa Work Education Resist) today released a fascinating report about the conditions, context and challenges faced by sex workers in Ottawa, with particular emphasis on their experiences with the Ottawa police. In light of the findings of this report, POWER has asked the Ontario Human Rights Commission to conduct a public […]

Sweeping changes needed to restore faith in Ottawa police

Looking at my recent web stats – particularly the keyword searches that bring people to this site – I see that I’m getting a big spike in traffic from people googling police brutality in Ottawa. They’re coming from all across Canada, as well as the US and other countries. And they’re coming, of course, because […]

Police brutality in Ottawa

Did you read this appalling story in today’s Citizen? It’s about a young woman named Stacy Bonds who was taken into police custody for no good reason, while walking home one night in 2008. She was essentially seized off the streets of Ottawa while doing nothing wrong. While in police custody, she was physically assaulted […]

The devil is in the deviant details

The last two days I’ve been following the sentencing hearing of Colonel Russell Williams. (For those of you unfamiliar with the case, Col. Williams was commander of Canada’s largest military base. About two years ago he started breaking into homes in his neighbourhood(s) and stealing the underwear of women and girls. He took photographs of […]