An opinion piece and backgrounder from May. The support of the police is/would be, in my view, a crucial development. Thanks to Brian.
These cops don’t believe in arresting people for being on the street
15 active officers and four retirees taking the government and their police forces to court
Joe Warmington, Toronto Sun, May 04, 2021
York Regional Police Const. Chris Vandenbos and Toronto Police Sgt. Julie Evans in front of the Charter of Rights in Toronto on May 3, 2021. Photo by Joe Warmington /Toronto Sun
These are cops policing a pandemic who are just not comfortable ticketing a woman on a sidewalk for expressing her free speech.
These are cops who don’t believe people in any house of worship should be arrested. These are cops deeply offended seeing a video of a 12-year-old boy on a scooter being pushed to the ground at a closed-down skate park.
And these cops have put their careers on the line to protect people’s basic rights.
Meet Sgt. Julie Evans and Sgt. Greg Boltyansky of Toronto Police and York Regional Police Const. Christopher Vandenbos — three officers “loyal to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” who are among 15 active police officers and four retirees taking the government and their police forces to court over being forced to participate in “unconstitutional” and “martial law” like lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and enforcement. The initiative stems from Police on Guard For Thee, which has hundreds of active and retired police officers advocating for the rights of Canadians.
“There are outright violations of people’s rights,” said Evans, a 20-year decorated detective. “It’s criminalizing human behaviour of people who are not criminals.”
But suddenly people expressing their freedoms at rallies, or wanting to play basketball, are in regular confrontations with police. These cops don’t think these interactions are necessary.“Going out and living their lives, to me, should not involve police going out and criminalizing that,” said 17-year veteran Vandenbos.
A social media video of a York police officer threatening to ticket a crying woman who has lost her business is hard to watch.
“It’s not what we signed up for,” said Evans. “Imagine watching daily your colleagues do that and try and put that same uniform on.”
These cops say they want to help people like her. Not fight her.
As a police officer for two decades, Boltyansky served foreign tours in Afghanistan and Ukraine but says it’s the stress now that is worse. “Right now I feel broken,” he said.
Our society is broken. The mental stress levels have never been higher.
It’s heartbreaking because these officers are good people with great careers. I’d rather find a way for them to continue those instead of being out of sorts with equally as exceptional superiors who have their own pressures to bear.
But these officers deserve to be heard. Their point of view is important. They are not unstable or wearing “tin foil” hats, as some suggest. It’s the opposite. They are people setting a high standard who you want wearing that uniform.
“I take great pride in the oath that I took to the Constitution, Charter and the Queen,” said Vandenbos. “In serving as a police officer, forgetting that Constitution and oath to the Charter, basically nullifies what it is I sought to do as a police officer, which is to protect the people and not criminalize human behaviour.”
Evans and Boltyansky have had it happen to them. Off duty, both were busted in the parking lot of the Church of God in Aylmer last month and after a heated conversation with local police, were handed $880 tickets.
The lawyer for the officers, Rocco Galati, said there will be more to say when it goes to court but I can say there are components to the story so compelling that these officers should never have ever been approached — much the same as Anne Klausner in Richmond Hill, whose fitness sector business is out of business thanks to COVID-19 measures.
Constitutional expert Galati said it’s an honour to represent these fine officers.
“The one thing they have in common is their integrity … They are standing up because of their commitment to the rule of law and the oath that they took to clarify their duties under these COVID regulations and to clarify what they can and can’t do.”
Added Galati: “They have serious concerns that they are being asked to do completely illegal and unconstitutional things.”
These cops won’t do that.