Special Constable versus Police Officers

Do we need them both? During the Second World War they were used to quell Labour disputes, and during the the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 the entire Winnipeg police force was dismissed because its members refused to sign an anti-union pledge.  They were  replaced by a much larger and better paid force of untrained Special Constables explicitly to end the strike and the police union.

Special Constables in Ontario serve as court security officers, prisoner transport officers, cell block officers and snowmobile trail patrol officers, are sworn-in pursuant to section 53 of the Police Services Act which confers Peace Officer Status. One important distinction to make not of is that they are not generally licensed or permitted to carry a firearm.  The appointment confers limited authority and the jurisdictional police will still have overall law enforcement authority and responsibility regardless of the special constable.

This is the first of two videos that were released to the public. This one shows a Special Constable “assaulting” Stacy Bonds while she were being processed. From what I can see of the video there were 5 officers involved. What this does not show is the 4 MALE officers cutting off her clothing and putting her in a cell half naked and in soiled trousers. We do not treat animals this way. She was not charged with a violent or dangerous crime in the first place, so I am confused by what seems to be an elevated sense of anger towards her on the part of the blond Special Constable. A second video has surfaced showing this same female Constable kicking a man while he was laying on the floor being dragged by other officers. It is obvious now that this person has anger issues, and has no place being in a position of power over helpless people.

Police Officers face danger and hardship every single day in the course of their duties, and deserve our respect, appreciation, and loyalty for what they do for us. The actions of this one person does not reflect on them whatsoever, but may perhaps point to better training and screening needed for Special Constables. Or maybe, delegate them to patrolling the bike paths and buses, and out of the jails, courts, and other areas where they are not in a position to abuse what little power they have been granted.

That being said, that video has been tampered with. I saw the original video when it was first posted on the Ottawa Sun website, and it showed “something” happened before the blond Constable grabbed the prisoners head. There is a moment where the video freezes. That is not your computer, it has been tampered with, and poorly. The question is why? What was removed?

After a little digging I found the original version. See for your self.