Bruce the Ripper

Torontonians are regaling themselves,  in shocked awe, that a 'serial' killer has been walking among them - possibly since he 'got off the bus' from Bobcaygeon, or some 'ville' in the Kiwarthas, a decade or so ago. All the while he was thought to be a mild-mannered landscaper but, if court records are to be believed,  he was known to be violently abusive to gay hookers and, it turns out, is now accused of terminating a number of gay men with extreme prejudice.

 But while the original ripper eviscerated his 6 or 7 victims, displayed them to 'send-up' police and was never caught. Our guy turned the dead into 'flower arrangements'  and wound-up getting caught - we'll have to find out how. Whether it was a lucky happenstance that nailed him,  or the super- sleuthing of the second 'finest public protection and service agency on erth',  is a saga page yet to be illustrated..

This story was started months ago but the saga continues.

A sober note at this years sexidexteroius celebrations was some group mourning for the dearly-departed - if anybody in the community really knew knew or cared.  While there may be somebody who does really know somebody and might even have cared about them, the gay community is one of those places where strangers rally do just pass in the night and that may be what makes it so easy for them to go poof, with little notice or noticing. They're the same class of folks police investigation-wise and Pictons'  multiple hookers.

Only yesterday another police investigation has been launched to excavate a gully behind accused killer  's home after cadaver dogs marked the possibility of human remains being there. Police are thinking as many as 6 more victims might be interred there.

More remains found


In the interim the killer has been arraigned. The star's ace 'reportress' Rosie was on hand to stare down into his soul looking for the depravity that only she could decipher for us. The Star's ace courtroom artist was there,  as well,  seeing the diabolical masque behind the plebeian potato-latke features of a shop-worn Santa Claus.

The Best P'leece Force

As the 'big stick' of Canada's National Police forces hangs up his 'Sam Brown and six gun'  (and takes the spurs home for bedroom' gymnasties')  - we get one final dose of his incredible BS.  This one at an investigation into another tragedy that transpired on his watch.

They didn't need no 'military grade' firearms.

While 'Pat' may be somewhat sincere in his belief that a police force shouldn't be 'militarized', he has either been 'living a lie' or dwelling in La-La Land since he 'joined up' with Canada's singular quasi-military police outfit. These guys have actually gone to wars before, as policemen,  some of the Staff at HQ actually sport a 'gong' for 'serving' in Afghanistan. Maybe if 'Pat' had one of those, he might be more 'realistic'.  Removing the 'old boys',  officers' mess-mentality, from the redcoats was something he was supposed to be doing - so there could be some 'continuity', or something, there.

What's surprising is that someone who has made noises about 'under-resourcing' and 'government parsimony' when it comes to 'the Force' , before, wouldn't be at the head of the army-surplus line when it came to them giving away free CadPat 'battle rattle' and light-armored AFVs. A C-4 in every patrol car would have been a bonus - they were/are 'standard issue', along with a (riot) shotgun,  in many 'ordinary' police force cruisers. - some of them carried 'up front' for rapid deployment -  American style.

In a very recent development the Dudley's have 'doo-wronged' again.  That ended the trial of an accused killer of 6.  Although the trial judge has sealed his ruling in vacating the charges against the accused, the action came after defense lawyers presented evidence in court that had been 'overlooked' when preparing the Crown's case. Where did they get that you might ask? Well 'from the RCMP' comes the rejoinder. 'Mirabile dictu',  it had been included in a 'package of information' given to the defense team. A mass murderer walked because somebody 'fudged the data' - by accident of course, like every other similar accident before. They will show up to testify accurately about your speeding ticket or DUI - no misinstructing the Crown there.

Needless to say Vancouver's Sikh population  - another case the Doowrights blew - is 'up in arms' and accusing somebody of collusion. It ain't collusion - although the accused killer has some of the earmarks of a 'skin head'.   But it is incompetence, again, just like always. If the new 'Barge Pole' hasn't been appointed already - and I haven't read that someone has - I guess the 'black eye ' here, has to fall directly onto the Force. There is nobody commanding who wants to fall on their ceremonial sword.

As always Tronna's force is a gift that keeps on giving too.

News came out that the case of a Drug Squad cop,  who died 'on the job' a year or so back, involved him dying of an overdose of illegal fentanyl. The expired trooper was a 'secret doper', too.  I'm wondering what qualifies somebody for work on a drug squad?  While identifying 'stoners' may not be a prerequisite,  it IS one of those things that anybody with a few firing synapses learns 'on the job' - for self-preservation, if nothing else. I'd be wondering how it came to pass,  that the deceased had a drug 'problem' that remained unremarked by  the singular body of people, in the city, who might reasonably, be expected to notice those things - the guys he worked with. Nobody's asking, so deep in mourning have they been, I'd guess. Nor wondering 'if a relatively, young, 'unjaded' officer had such a drug problem, might there not be other 'problems' like his on the force?  Being stoned, like being drunk,  on duty may make you a jolly good fellow ( Until recently, might get you into serious counselling.) but how does it improve job performance?

The ink had barely dried on that news story  before Toronto's finest had their feelings hurt when somebody at the Human Rights Commission started a campaign to reevaluate the force's 'growth' in racial equality when making 'routine patrol stops' - formerly known as the 'carding' program for gathering HumInt.  Police spokespeople were shocked , and the union leader outraged as usual, that an 'issue', addressed years ago (years ago!)  was being 'dragged out' for an airing in a despicable attempt to make the best pleece' service in, almost the whole world, look bad! Again!!

Related story: another murdered female body has been recovered in the Toronto 'downtown core'. The first one was noticed  two years ago and finally identified very recently. The second is a woman reported missing by her family a week or so back. The body was found in what is described as "Toronto's gay district" - not that there's anything wrong with that.  So was the first one.  Obviously, in the absence of any more corpses, there is no connection.

The service has even  got lotsa 'darkies' on the force now.  One of them is THE BOSS - although he's been on sick leave recently! Some of them are still, Orangemen - so that's progress!

In another late-breaker,  the city was rocked last week when news broke on Friday morning that an 11 year old girl , on her way to school, had been accosted by 'Edward Scissorhands' , twice, on which occasions he cut her hijab. By 10:30 am  the little gal was telling her story on the local and national news at a press conference - surrounded by family and 'community mentors' and a representative of the TPS.  By Monday morning - after a weekend marked by litany of apologies and ruminations and 'that IS NOT who we ares', the same TPS was announcing that, 'after an investigation' they had determined the girl "had been lying". That, of course, engendered a swelling tide of the  'that IS who we ares'  to start howling about them all being liars and how they shouldn't have hijabs anyway and a bunch of 'hey! those apologies were just like letting jihadis back into the country and giving them millions of taxpayer dollars, etc. 

The story is still unfolding for, now, the little girl isn't (shouldn't have been) allowed on TV. That the 'community mentors' at the school need their heads read and, perhaps, the notion of police 'tweeting' news of the assault, twice, before they investigated, may have caused the 'press scrum' that was 'organized'. I think the 'she's lying' thing will need looked at too, for, so far, there is no public indication that she has admitted to that,  or recanted her initial story, I would hope the TPS know that but have not made it public.

Forcillo's Fate

Another legal drama almost played out to-day in Toronto. Its 'star' was another of  'Tronna's finest' who felt enough fear doing that awesome job of defending, protecting and serving society, the one that we honor and reward cops for doing, to draw that pistol we provided to him and unload most of a  clip into a 'threat'.  If anything the drama proves that 'police lives matter'.

The  story in summer 2013 when a 17 year-old called Sammy Yateen got  load of dope into himself (or so toxicology reports)  and went for a tram car ride on his own, somewhere he normally didn't go, and something his folks said he normally didn't do.  Whatever was on his mind on that night,  something happened that made him expose himself and start threatening the others on that train with a pocket knife  ( it had a 3 inch blade which made it legal to carry, but not, perhaps, as impressive a the "10 centimetres" the defense team described) he happened to have with him. The result was that, while nobody was hurt, many were frightened, including the driver who, after seeing his tram evacuated tried to reason with Sammy but left, as well, when police arrived.  The first police to arrive   realized that Yateen was in a state that was not conducive to reason, and that he had that knife. They waited for back-up, which, and as usual, duly arrived - Officer Forcillo was one of them. By the time the incident ended,  there were 23 police officers on the scene -  including at least one ranking officer.

Yateen refused to surrender and while police maneuvered and decided on a best approach to ending the situation - which was by now the focus of a number of  bystanders, one of whom deployed his cell phone camera.  The videoed part of the interaction lasted 3 or 4 minutes out of the 12-15 that the whole saga lasted. There were to be 4 such video sources entered in evidence including one on the tram itself.

But it wasn't so much the saga, as the finale, that involved officer Forcillo. He was to be the 'subject officer' charged with shooting Yateen - at total of 8 times (one shot missed).  The other 22 police officers present were designated  the 'witnessing officers'  for the subsequent  SIU investigation.  For while  the world very quickly became witnesses to the 55 seconds of Officer Forcillo's part in the drama, and saw what happened, what he was seen to do was to remain 'alleged' until a court found him guilty - and that part of the saga has taken three years.   What the world saw, and that the court heard, was that Yateen threatened Forcillo from inside a streetcar. That resulted in Forcillo being one of three officers to draw their weapons and to be the only only to be threatened enough to open fire. Forcillo did that. A first volley of four shots dropped Yateen - possibly inflicting one of the fatal wounds. The second volley of five shots - fired seconds later - finished him off. Other officers standing near, or beside, Forcillo, including another one pointing his/her weapon,  did not fire.  Another officer then deployed a taser to 'render Yateen receptive to medical intervention'.  After which officers stormed the tram, Yateen was removed to be pronounced dead at a hospital.

Then it was officer Forcillo's turn.

Unlike ordinary people in such situations,  Forcillo wasn't jailed during the investigation or before, or after,  charges against him were laid.  He was suspended from work as a policeman - a harsh sort of necessity - but he received normal pay and emoluments until he was sentenced to jail yesterday, after which the Chief of Police 'suspended him from duty (in accordance with the Police Act) without pay'. (something that should have happened 'in accordance with the Police Act' on his conviction?).  His Police Association hired, and paid for, a team of 'specialist' lawyers who did their best to convince the court that Yateen had, essentially, signed his own death warrant and coerced an innocent policeman into executing it.  The court didn't buy that. The public, or the greater part of them, didn't either. Perhaps some of the 22 witness officers didn't, either, the court heard from very few (none?) of them.

In passing a sentence of 6 years, one year more than the mandatory sentence for the crime charged (attempted murder), the judge hauled out the old saws about violated trusts and duties and the needs to be held 'accountable'. But Officer Forcillo literally got away with murder. He was charged with trying to kill Yateen, not actually doing it as attempted. In the best of all possible worlds manslaughter might have been conceivable  ... but even a crack defense team couldn't rationalize  that second volley and the pause before it. Forcillo said he saw the dead man move to  "threaten him",  the tape sadly didn't agree.

Never having shot someone, or having been in any sort of position where I might have shot someone,  or even having life the stressful life ascribed to policemen, I know  disqualifies me from sharing the ideation that led Officer Forcillo to off-load, but I have felt threatened, and stressed, in my work and  I  have fired a gun, in fun.  I know from personal experience, that one good shot very often deserves another - just because. To diverge to another case recently in the news of a handicapped man and his care-giver confronted by police in Florida, after the caregiver was shot while lying on the ground with his arms extended, he asked the policeman who shot him why he'd done that. The answer was, "I  don't know."  Possibly that might have been Officer Forcillo's honest answer, but he was otherwise advised and they almost got him off  'scot free'.

What they did get him was treated differently from any other felon - until yesterday. For he is no longer 'on the force', and not protected by 'the brotherhood'. Other than never, perhaps, having to spend a day in a jail's 'general population'.  Maybe he never will, police are rarely punished for things they do 'on duty' except theft, drinking and sex - which again require almost boilerplate proof,  or dissing a superior or breaking the brotherhood bond,  which don't.

The sentence is supposed to send some sort of message to police. But Forcillo is the first policeman to have been convicted of something that happens all too regularly are 'part of a hard job'. To many people he's a scapegoat. To some who believe he did go too far they wonder of 6 years isn't too much - it won't bring back the dead kid and Focillo has already had an ordeal in court.  But that was his choice and his right and it was designed to prevent a harsher sentence - or exonerate him completely. And that's all something that wouldn't happen to a security guard or licensed gun owner who did the same thing

As he was being taken to 'protective custody' in cells below the courthouse, his lawyers were announcing there was to be an appeal launched in another court this morning that might see him freed to celebrate the long week-end and to put his finances in order, if he hadn't already done that.  He's now, almost officially, another 'bad' cop.

Hopefully a 'bad'  cop with a partial pension.

My Two (almost) Favorite Topics: Again

Gays and the Gardai - or Tronna's rebutylhydrated version of an  'Ulster constabulary' - (no feckin' pl'eece services in Hogtown) and the annual paean to promiscuity - the Gay Pride parades.

Was a time in 'Toronto the good' when the one would regularly  rough-up gatherings of the other.  Hallowe'en was a good night to catch somebody 'in flagrante delicto', dressed-up a like a bombshell, and if you couldn't throw the book at em for some kind of turpitude , at least you could make sure they 'tripped' over their crinolines.  Toronto gays still commemorate the 'bathhouse raids' and the heavy-handed police 'presents' that turned the tide on outright harassment.

Over the years the Toronto police have come a long, long way. From the Chief participating in the parade a few years back, when the Mayor wouldn't,  to the LGBTSMFP members of Toronto's finest prancing and capering down Church Street, as their granddaddies might have done  behind King Billy's horse in  Julys of yesteryear. Not only prancing and capering - but smooching, holding hands and - unless it was another police force - popping the question (diamond and all) to that significant same-gendered  other,  in front of an admiring crowd.  Wonder if they would qualify for a 'police wedding'  like the RCMP jobbie - with 'orses,  and  the riot baton, honour-guard salute?

The gay thing is, again, as much traditionally 'proud'  as it has been ,  an exposee of pulsating,  ambidextrousity,  pulchritude, kitsch and too much make-up  - only now extending to a whole week of 'celebrating'.  It will be interesting to see where this goes when more 'mainstream ' gays get involved with 'their families'. I imagine that, even for the cause, there are some things their offspring shouldn't be seeing.  And what happens as time goes by and age takes it's toll?  The octogenarian gays might need their own less-exciting celebration, they would be more frightening in gold lame short-shorts  than a legion colour party - much like the gradually-changing veterans day parades that once graced the CNE on Warrior's Day -  today the handful of wheelchair-bound stalwarts and the cadet corps to push them.   Mind you,  there are a couple of newer generations of peacekeepers - now carrying the torch of sacrifice - while the current lot of real combat vets don't want much to do with the BIG show.

It was one of those growing number of 'mainstream groups' that caused the uproar and offended Toronto's finest,  at this year's gala.

Black Lives Matter 'activists' participated in this years' doings to publicize their 'agenda', which has something to do with the undiminished frequency with which some of Toronto's finest deal with some 'malefactors' - usually black or psychologically-troubled ones - and  with what used to be called 'extreme prejudice'.  The Toronto force has had a couple of 'bad incidents' this year where somebody videoed what looked, to the untrained eye - and, in one cause, a supposedly unbiased court - for all the world like unwarranted overreactions in which citizens found themselves shot dead by police.   Those Black Activists actually brought the Pride parade to a standstill briefly on a couple of marching days and, in the last instant, had the organizers sign a commitment to remove the 'official' police presence from the parade. No more float from the Metro cops - and that hurt.

 Not the gay cops marching, no, the pain was felt by the 'Nellies;' in the Police Union who took it all to heart and let the media know about them 'shocks' and 'dismays' - hurt feelings and all. That some guttersnipers could rise up and bust a perfectly good community-building exercise, was just almost as much as seeing a member get sentenced to a term in jail rather than just being allowed to retire to an early pension.  But such, as some people say,  is life.

Now the ple'ece SERVICE (catch the change?)  are demanding an apology - or two.  

Somebody should be asking,  "For what?"

I'm pretty sure the gay community could get along very well without 'Jock' ( my daddy was pl'eece chief so this is genetic, eh?) McCormick  and the  cops who 'hang out' at HQ.  Maybe if they hadn't 'tapped the goodness' out of  all that extra funding they were given to stop  the gun violence - which is back again - in spades - annual budget increases and all - they might have more respect, or pride.

They still have  the same old bunker mentality. Somebody IS out to get them.

 The Black Lives Matter - 'activists'. 

My second favorite p'leece force has got itself in the news again. This time for gunning-down some teen-aged run-amok. And then tasering the corpse to make sure the threat had been eliminated. Mind you, he had been warned.

On a good day this would be another tooth-sucker. However this particular incident - videoed by onlookers - made the front page. It might have been because most of the shift manpower congregated on the streetcar taken over by the 'violent youth'. Or it might have been the nine shots in two separate volleys that downed the perp. Or it may have been the fact that he was all alone, armed with a small knife and inside the streetcar yards from the nearest cop. Or it might have been the subsequent events. But the story has some legs.

Video of the incident

Naturally his righteousness the Chief of P'leece, the estimable Bill Blair, was in front of the microphones almost right away, as were the head of the police 'union' Mark 'Puggli' Pugwash and former and currently-serving coppers, like the accused, tried and reinstated son of a former Chief of P'leece Bill McCormick. The initial 'doing his dooty' meme was displaced with 'suspended with pay pending investigation' meme and segued into a charge of second degree murder for the poor cop who did the shooting.

Billy had it all well in hand however, looking at the possible charges under the P'leece Act and all and  getting the internal examination underway. He selected a retired judge to take the lead. But that man had to step down when the dead man's family objected to the Judge's ties to the Police Department's legal firm. Another retired Judge has since taken up the investigation. Chief Bill is waiting to see what happens.

Meanwhile the Provincial ombudsman announced that he was getting into the act with an investigation of his own. A couple of days after that he was in the media claiming to have been threatened by a policeman from a region abutting Toronto. Turns out the policeman he named didn't do it. But some other policeman from the Durham force had. Apparently he'd set up a social media account in his fellow cop's name and gone ahead and threatened the ombudsman. Needless to say the chief of that department couldn't release the name because he had an investigation going on about that. But he has that all well in hand, too.

And just the other day the Special Investigations Unit, which laid the murder charge, was in the papers claiming that there was a culture of non-cooperation at Metro Police encouraged, they believed, by the disinterest of his Nibs the Chief. Seems that Police don't like incriminating themselves or each other any more than the average crook. Even if they are well-paid and  get to sport fire arms in public. I'm wondering if the SIU was considering why 19 other officers stood by to witness the shooting without apparently, doing anything. That schoolyard fight witnessing is a hard thing to shake.

The public also got a thumbnail sketch of the legal lion who sticks up for the poor coppers before the bench of justis. Peter Brauti is the kind of lawyer most people could only wish they'd get. But he has access, through the police, to information  other lawyers only wish they could get. He's very good at his job, very few Toronto police have been convicted of anything. 'Going for the gold' , as opposed to negligence, or manslaughter, or a number of lesser charges on this one, just means it's more likely the cop won't be convicted.

 In one of the more stupid developments, some Tory pol came up with the notion that if every front line cop had a taser, they wouldn't need to shoot anybody. Although the logic of that escapes me, given the current story, somebody is willing to throw about $2 billion in new spending into a negative trade deficit to keep the elves at the Tommy Swift Electric Cannon Corporation of America in Dunkin' and Donuts. Needless to say the Chief thought the idea was brilliant.

The finest little P'leece Service money can buy maintains, and continues.

Fionn McCool's: Phookin' McNasty

"Fionn McCools" is a chain of  pseudo-Irish pub 'experiences' spread across North America. I'd never been in one until last weekend. If they're all like that, I'll never be in one again.

OK, I know it was a busy weekend competing for the FIFA traffic with Spain vs Italy and a Blue Jay's game just down the street, but I'd imagine the location was a large consideration in the decision to put that 'pub' there for game patrons to interrupt their peregrenation to Union Station. That being said, one would think that extra staff would have been hired to keep up appearances, as well as prepare and serve 'fud' (mit umlaut)  and bevvies. That wasn't happening.

The front door looked like Oliver Twist and company had been on hand to stare in at the revellers. There was probably snot somewhere on that door, but I didn't check. The opacity probably explains why some bozo trying to get in, didn't see the people, inside, waiting at the greeter's kiosk and bashed somebody with that heavy glass door. But there wasn't much room allowed for a foyer-full of 'waiters'.

Speaking of waiters, the wait staff seemed to be predominantly young women of high school age, clad in some Manga wet dream outfits, or a travesty of the Catholic school girl's kilt. When we were seated, we received the ministrations of one of the few male staff evident. He was an affable sort, ("Great Choice!"), but he looked like he'd been wearing his 'outfit' for some time. At least it wasn't one of those kilts.

The service was OK.

In the classic Irish pub tradition - the live music night - the sound system was cranked to shouting range and blasted out a stream of Irish ditties that made the 'good craic' potential of the pub a tonsil-toning exercise. With everybody trying to talk over 'Brennan on the Moor',  it sounded like a bazaar in Kabool, rather than a pub in Ireland, or most anywhere else. Most Irish pubs tend to be quiet - even during the singing when the respectable 'craic' stops. Fionn McCool's wasn't.

The food was, as in many pubs, indifferent. When I got my fish and chips they'd already been cooling for some time as being too hot was no issue. In fact I had to send mine back as the crispy battered coating was underlain by what appeared to be a layer of semi-cooked wallpaper paste. So much for 'lightly battered', it doesn't get much thicker than pancake density. The returning piece of fish - 1.5 miracled into only 1 - was better-cooked but, again,  indifferent.

Somebody's creative notion  of a 'garden slaw' was interesting. The dish of julienned veggies in mayo which included, from what I could detect,  eggplant and zucchini was different. But it was no pleasant change from a standard cole slaw, or even the pub standard squshy peas. It's nice to be creative, even in a darkened eating emporium.

 Why is it those places are dark? OK there is area lighting at the table so you can see what you're putting in your mouth. But the inner darkness is used, as it seemed to be here, to hide a multitude of sins. At least I didn't skid on anything, but there was lots on the floor. Including, later it turned out, my wife's collectible ball cap, which she apparently missed after dropping on the floor. Obviously the bus staff missed it too, for it must have walked away with another more apperceptive diner.

The 'highlight' of the experince was the 'loo'. I've been in the best and worst pubs loo-wise, in a number of places. This one took pride of place for sheer filth. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the easter risin'. In fact it looked like it was in some countdown to complete bathroom reno mode. (No sense cleaning it the land lord wants to redo it.) It should be redone, for I have a  larger bathroom in my rec room. This was entirely inadeqaute for the  numbers of clientele. My wife complained to the waiter about the ladies, too. Did I mention it was almost 'trainspotting' filthy?

As goes the bathroom, why not the kitchen? They're both 'dirty jobs' nobody 'likes' to do.

Well, nobody who can be ringing-in sales and toting up their tips, that is. For the bevy of young beauties seemed to be encouraging each other to use the charge terminal all the time we were there, There never seemed to be less than 4 or 5 waiting and watching as one of them keyed the touch screen. Perhaps thst's why the bogs were fouled and a nearby hutch crowded with dirty dishes. Too many chiefs and not enough clanspersons.

Philthy McNasty's  (another Sports bar  'concept') was a cut above, cleanliness-wise. But the 'McFud' in both gives lie to the necessity of serving 'fud' (mit umlaut)  at all. Fionn McCools was, for me, a big flop.

Post Script:  I emailed ny sentiments to the manager and was rewarded by a speedy response. I was assured that my complaints were taken to heart and invited to return to meet his nibs in person. Added to that  - a $100 gift card for the reprise.

My favorite constabulary is in the news again.

The first story relates to a tragic accident involving a TTC bus and a heavy duty tow truck. The accident, which killed a female passenger and sent most of the other passengers to hospital, occurred when a TTC bus attempted to get around the tow truck. In the process it struck the rear end of the truck, forcing it off the road. The TTC driver, a 52-year old, 10 year employee, was unhurt and, 'shaken up', took the rest of the day off. Police determined that there were no 'obvious signs of impairment' (aside from the bus, see above). The driver refused hospital treatment, or testing.  And there it might all have ended, had not some 'investigating officers' found a quantity of pot in the driver's  gym bag.  To-day he's being 'investigated' for possible drug use and needless to say he's called his union into the matter. Having dope at work, and smoking dope at work may well be totally unrelated events in this instant, but the time interval between the accident and finding the dope should have blown any proof that he was 'whacked' at the wheel. He probably 'blew' a relaxation reefer, at home, afterward, to cope with all the stress - that would explain any negative blood testing. Even if there were no obvious signs of impairment, would any other driver get such an empathetic police investigation after a fatal accident they walked away from, I doubt it.

The other story involves the Pleece Chief  William 'Linda' Blair. He was recommending his 'Chief's birthday honours list' of the 'deserving' for advancement in the ranks, to the Toronto Police Board, when one of the civilians noticed that nine of the 'meritorious' had been cited for removing their identification at the  G20 pacification and response to potential terroristic activity,  last year. The Board voted to reject the Chief's recommendation and withhold a salary increase and promotion for the officers in question. Well, right off the bat, the PR department at HQ swung into gear with charges of  pleecemen being punished two times for the one peckerdillo. It seems the fellows had already suffered a 'one-day stoppage' of the pay for trying to hide their identity from those who would seek to harm them and their families - or try to charge them with assault, illegal arrest,  or other misbehaviour. I'd be willing to bet the stoppage was deducted at 'regular' salary as opposed to G20 'overtime' and special, hazardous duty deployment rates. The Board's well-reasoned response was that promotion isn't a right, it's a privilege bestowed by the employer at the recommendation of the Chief. The Board now wants to know just how the Chief goes about making such recommendations. Watch out for a massive pout and deeply hurt feelings at HQ.

Ancillary to this is another dose of Blair who, talking to the media recently, declared that a proposed 10 percent reduction in the police budget was going to result in a twenty percent reduction in the number of pleecemen and women on the force. We must have been getting a bargain.

Now that Canada's armed intrusion onto the worlds' stages is theoretically winding-down, the Canadian Armed Forces are winding-down their wartime expenditure, too. Reductions in personnel are proposed. Who's going to get the axe? The officer corps? The civilian employees? Or the grunts, erks and swabbies who whom it all depends? I'm inclined to think it will be the second - as the former can 'golden handshake' into private enterprise, or a government job, and the latter remain at a premium in, at least,  the Naval arm.

While we're on the subject. The Prime Minister Steve Harper, setting the stage for his diplomatic master stroke in Paris at the Libya-freedom-recap meeting, stated his gratitude for all the sacrifices Canadian troops were making to bring freedom to the Libyans, and to serve up a warning that we wouldn't be leaving until the job was done up good and proper - despite an 'end of mandated deployment' coming up in a week and a half.  Not only that, he stated every Canadian's willingness to send our boys, and girls, after other nasty dictators. So Assad better get his head out of his azz and resign before he gets a 'beaver bashing', too. This is great, there's an outside chance of Canada actually doing something about Darfur, a situation that can be laid directly at the feet of Canadian Talisman Energy's Sudan oil dealings some two decades ago. But Harpo wasn't 'on watch' back then, so it don't count. Neither will the 'bad men' in Bahrain and Yemen, who, in those cases are the 'rebels', rather than the dictators. Of course the rebels in Afghanistan remain the gunsight targets for our new 'training mission' - we'll still be dropping our NATO/ISAF bombs on them.

The only people I can see getting any real jollies out of out new-found 'warrior ethos' are the same sort of extravagantly-paid investment managers and hedge fund honchos who would invest a couple of hundred thousand on some massive pick-up trucks to drive around the estate weekends and a pair of Harley's for the outlaw cruises to the local coffee bar. After all, for the wise, a war is always an investment opportunity.

Justis gets served. Would ya like some Gravy?

Toronto remains under the watch of the best paid pl'eece service in Canada, but it's still the 'city of the gun'. There has been no slow-down in the weekly roster of gunshots and subsequent ambulance runs. By the same token, there seems to be no real social desire to do much about it.

Cases in point, the current round of court cases arising from some of the more notable episodes.

Jane Creba was a 15 year-old Christmas shopper got one in the back as she tried crossing the road during a Main St. Toronto gun-battle 2 years ago. She won't be Christmas shopping any more, but the Wyatt Earps and Clanton boys are in court now pleading their cases. Most of those present have been dealt with (lots of dismissed charges) a couple have received jail time but none get to pay anything like Jane Creba. For it was a 'accident' don't ya see, peeps?

 The current two on trial now are accused of firing a 9 mm ruger down the busiest street in Toronto 9 times that night. It's the only one of what are 'estimated' (that fine p'leece service stuff again) to be the five guns fired that night . It was taken from a 15 year-old arrested on his way home after the shooting. He was, of course only holding for somebody he didn't know. Colour him innocent. The other guy, whose prints were found on the gun will have story about that and since his fingerprints haven't been found on the ejected cartridge cases colour him not guilty as well. We'll see.

The second case is a 'gun tale' tangentially. It involves a 'wilding' in a public housing community a year and a half back that saw a 15 year-old beaten and chased and beaten again over a period of three hours or so by 15-20 'youths'. When his body was found the next day he had also been stabbed some 23 times. The immediate story was that he'd been on the,'wrong turf' and has been stealin' . The neighbours of course hadn't seen anything and had nothing to tell the police. But eventually somebody did roll over and the police arrested 12 or thirteen of those present, they were charged with serious offenses and most held under house arrest. Until to-day that is, when one of them a dread-locked wonder copped a plea to first-degree murder. That left the 'mob' facing charges not much more serious than making too much noise. We'll see what the defense has planned for the confessor, but the word is now that the dead kid was offed for taking $1,500 for a gun he failed to deliver.  Nobody's thinking to ask where a bunch of 'student youths' in a poor neighbourhood are getting $1 500 bucks and why they'd need a gun?

If I was the judge every one of those 'onlookers' in court would be asked to produce the income tax return they filed last year. If they weren't working then , they'd be going to jail now. If you're at a murder, even if you didn't do it, if you don't call the police - or tell your mom, you're guilty.

The third case involves the sad case of a guy who went to the store for milk and got his head  blown off when he walked between a couple of drunks and the bouncer who had kicked them out of a Yonge St. (geez that's a shooting gallery) boozer. The interesting part of this 'doozie' is that the two boneheads in question are charged with second degree murder - I guess because shooting the guy they did was some sort of 'accident'. They had no intent to shoot him, they only wanted to shoot a bouncer. Even if one of those clowns was licensed to carry a concealed firearm - and there are very few Canadians licensed to do that. I'd say that taking it with you for a night on the town is definitely outside any reason for you being licensed. That, in my estimation, shows intent of some kind. Pulling it out, pointing it and pulling the trigger on a public street shows another  intent, even if you  are pissed up, or pissed off. The  guy that stuck that gun in his jacket, and his buddy who knew he had it,  caused that man's death, the only accident was him, and it was fatal. They deserve life and first degree charges.

Last but not least is the trial of two 'gangsta teens' (of course they're not, they're just misguided 'stoodentz' who accidentally brought a gun to school because they were scared, and victims of whitey's pride)  accused of shooting their friend at a Toronto school two years ago.  This case caused a massive shake-up in Toronto schools - more security and 'black-o-centric' education to stop the killin'. The two were seen with the victim moments before the shooting. And one of the accused returned to watch what happened next. He even managed to pass a comment about modesty when somebody tried to find the dying boy's wound. The other fellow, who had been suspended and shouldn't have been in the school,  left after one of the pair rifled their dying friend's pockets. Needless to say the murder weapon is still in somebody's sock drawer.

 The black community 'rose up' to blame whitey's pride for sending their children off down the wrong path of anglo-centric education. The black principal of that high school, who was accused by staff of taking a very 'hands-off' approach to discipline, was moved to another position, probably a promotion, the next year. The mothers of all three are sufferin' - all three kids are victims, you see? But they're not looking for that gun.

Toronto will remain a city under the gun until the courts start to treat gun crimes as something more than ordinary and excusable.  Either that or declare hunting season and let everyone go armed.

Santy Comes Early

The Toronto Pleece Service  continue to give the RCMP a run for the money in terms of what pleece services are all about. The Mounties may have them 'tapped' in the strides department, but the true-blues are far better-paid.

 Both on and off the job. A recent story in the Toronto Star outlined the little salary enhancement the pleece service has in its off-time: earning up to three times their regular salary for showing up in uniform to guard movie shoots, weddings and construction sites. And all this time I thought they did traffic control for funeral processions out of respect and not for the $75 an hour they're paid.

Some good news for the brotherhood this week when long-pending charges against some members of the force accused of shake-downs were dropped by the crown prosecutor. Why, after 5 years, were the charges dropped? Well because some investigating officer 'muffed the case' and compromised his informant, don't ya know. As well as causing a lot of that 5 year delay, that 'senior investigator' saved a lot of somebodies' bacon.

This, another case in the many that add-up to the notion that you CAN pay some cops too much money. Last month there was the wrap-up of another marathon investigation - the Creba case - that saw most of the shooters accused of 'accidentally' killing a young girl during a Christmas shopping gunfight, released for lack of evidence after 5 years in the lock-up on pleece charges. Betcha the ex-pleece in the former case have their law suits settled first, eh?

Four months ago another group of 'angels with tarnished wings' were set free after another corruption investigation, but the Crown is appealing that one. So those fellows are still 'living in the hell of  degradation and lack of self worth' described by the fellows who 'took the fall' and resigned from the force they loved so well - albeit after they were accused of taking thousands in extra 'donations' to the pleece 'Santy fund' from restaurants, some run by real crooks. But that's a matter for their wrongful dismissal lawsuits.

For a bunch of guys who start blubbering regularly that 'nobody really likes' them, the gang behind the barricades, bunkers and guarded parking lots don't do a lot that is likable - beating bums, muffing cases and stealing on and off the job. It may be a tough job but it doesn't require a shitty outlook on life to do it. Enough of ,  'Oh, Maw! They've turned me into an asshole! Oh, poor me!'

So we'll  wish all such pleece officers, everywhere, the best that Santy brings - be it a new car, some needed furniture or just the cash to catch up on credit card debt. And hope that the real Daddy Christmas has a large 'Mr. Henke' to leave under their tree.  Bah, freaking humbug!