After tragedy, time to reconsider issues

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2021 (1787 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Problems within the Winnipeg Police Service are a long-standing issue. But for officers on the receiving end of public antagonism, it’s more than an issue. It’s personal, and it can hurt.

A constable who died by suicide on Feb. 21 was said to be distraught over the anti-police sentiment that has risen in recent years. Out of respect for the grieving family, the Free Press is not identifying the officer, but his public obituary states: “Sadly the light in his eyes began to dim in latter months as he became increasingly troubled with anti-police protests, campaigns, growing public hatred and cynicism toward police officers.”

The revelation that an officer was deeply disturbed by what he saw as public hatred might hit home uncomfortably for some Winnipeggers. Some may feel guilt. But there’s truth to what the officer felt.

Anti-police protests? Yes. Local protests against police brutality attracted thousands of people to Winnipeg’s downtown in June. Anti-police campaigns? Yes. More than 63,000 people signed a petition to defund and abolish the Winnipeg Police Service.

Growing public cynicism? Yes. At least two school divisions are axing their police-in-school programs. Please think about that for a minute: police went into schools as goodwill ambassadors, and now school divisions are kicking them out.

How does this groundswell of animosity affect the rank-and-file officers, the ordinary cops we depend on to quell domestic disputes, surly drunks, muggers on meth, and troublemakers bent on raising hell. How does it feel to be hated by the people you’re trying to help?

The public rarely hears their side. Police have a close-mouthed culture, a code of not showing emotional vulnerability to outsiders, by which they mean everyone not wearing the badge. So when we read that a constable who took his own life was “increasingly troubled” by the ongoing hostility of Winnipeggers — these same people he tried to protect every working day for 15 years — it warrants serious concern.

The comments of friends and colleagues on the obituary website praise the officer’s integrity, high values and compassion. In other words, a direct contrast to the stereotypical image in some quarters that Winnipeg police officers are racists and bullies who abuse their power.

One fellow officer wrote: “He was too good for the seemingly many that enjoy their ability to criticize the police only because of the efforts of men and women who dedicated their lives to create a society so safe.

“He was a good police officer. I hope his family understands that this simple statement is much more than it seems and is a hard statement to earn from what is often jaded police officers.”

If this tragedy can open our eyes, perhaps it can help draw a line between good cops and the institutional problems that plague the WPS.

We can be grateful to the many officers who do their tough job honourably, but still be outraged by a system that finds leniency when off-duty officers who have been drinking get behind the wheel and kill other people. We can respect those officers who treat the public with fairness, but still be alarmed by the reek of racism reported by many Indigenous and people of colour mistreated by police.

We can be dismayed that a Winnipeg police sergeant remains on the job even though he has been sued at least eight times for allegations that include excessive force and wrongful arrests. We can be concerned that the Independent Investigations Unit, which was initiated in 2015 to improve accountability, has turned out to be a watchdog without teeth, partly because only 23 of 81 accused officers have fully co-operated with the IIU.

It must be difficult for good cops to know that, according to a Statistics Canada survey last November, only 34 per cent of Manitobans “strongly trust” police.

The power to restore a relationship of trust lies with the force’s leaders and politicians. They have the power to weed out dishonourable officers, and reshape accountability bodies such as the IIU so the public sees justice is done even when the accused person wears a badge.

A glimmer of hope came when the provincial government said it will alter Manitoba’s Police Services Act, although the public doesn’t yet know what changes are proposed because the bill is one of 19 that received first reading without the contents being disclosed.

In the meantime, out of respect to the constable who ended his life troubled by increasing hostility from Winnipeggers, perhaps we can extend respect and co-operation to individual officers we encounter, not leaping to the default assumption that every officer embodies every historic wrong committed by Winnipeg police.

His death can be a reminder that many officers are “good cops” in a badly flawed system. If it’s the system that’s the problem, it’s the system that must change.

carl.degurse@freepress.mb.ca

Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board.