Antidote to Psychopathy
Taxi driver Sami Aldoboni will see some kind of justice done to ameliorate his pain and restore his sense of security. The attack he suffered on Monday at Ottawa International Airport, witnessed by dozens of bystanders will not go underground and become an instance of malfeasance hushed. For that he, and by extension all we others, have the news media to thank for taking up this story and playing it for what it represents; an unprovoked attack on a visible-minority-Canadian by an arrogant racist psychopath.
It will not only be the violent aggression of the unnamed, off-duty police officer that will be under scrutiny but the resulting reactions and follow-up unprofessional behaviour of the six other police officers who responded to the 911 call for help; the first two who colluded with the offending officer, and the later four who showed up once the initial two drove off with Mr. Aldoboni's assailant, hastily removing him from what represented an obvious crime scene.
The province's Special Investigations Unit will look into the off-duty officer's conduct for indications of criminal action - and there were plenty of those - while the investigation into the follow-up conduct of the uniformed police officers will be an internal one. It will be very difficult for this shockingly disturbing event to be hushed up, given the publicity it has received and the resulting outrage of the public. There is reason to anticipate that a full measure of justice will be meted out.
The disquieting thing however, most immediately apparent, is that despite the statements of witnesses and the victim himself, the violent attacker was not immediately suspended, but was 'relegated' to a supervised desk job. That may seem like a harshly temporary demotion to the police, particularly to one as arrogant as the assailant who obviously felt he could comport himself as he wished with his special privileges as a police officer, but doesn't give much comfort to the public.
On the plus side, West Carleton-March Councillor Eli El-Chantiry, chair of the Police Services Board stated the commitment of the board and the city to determining precisely what had occurred with respect to the assault and the puzzling conduct of the uniformed officers who responded to the call for help. "Both incidents are under investigation and I can assure you, as a citizen of the city of Ottawa, as an immigrant myself and as the chair of the police board, no one, and I mean no one is above the law in this country."
A spokesman for the city's chief of police assured the public that the internal police investigation to probe the conduct of the responding police officers will be conducted with a view to determining whether they responded "in a manner that we would normally handle any other member of the community in this type of investigation". Which clearly, they failed to do. Whether taken aback at the bizarre behaviour of one of their own, resulting in confusion over their response, or a deliberately witless attempt at cover-up.
It is, however, the attitude of Mr. Aldoboni, nursing his injuries - his psychical bruising as well as physical damage done to his arm and hand - that confounds. Rather than bitterly denouncing the wholesale lack of professionalism of the police force, he reinforces his earlier opinion of the force as one to which he and other citizens give their trust. He is sufficiently sensitive to the situation as it impacts on the reputation of the Ottawa Police to state that it is his hope the incident does not tarnish the reputation of all officers.
"If we lose trust in our police, to who will we go to seek help?" he asked reasonably, in the process of convalescent, from his bed at home. This is an obviously good-natured and forgiving man. He has five children, and does not plan any time soon to describe to them what happened to their father. Simply because that would undermine what he has always taught them, that police protect the public, they are there, on duty, to ensure that public safety is assured.
"I've never been in a fight with anybody before", he said ruefully. "Now, the first time, it's with a police officer." Well, in fact, he wasn't in a 'fight with' anyone on this occasion. He was the victim of a vicious attack by an obviously malfunctioning human being who just happened also to be a member of a police force, and that's a horrible combination. That, truly, represents a breach of public trust.
It will not only be the violent aggression of the unnamed, off-duty police officer that will be under scrutiny but the resulting reactions and follow-up unprofessional behaviour of the six other police officers who responded to the 911 call for help; the first two who colluded with the offending officer, and the later four who showed up once the initial two drove off with Mr. Aldoboni's assailant, hastily removing him from what represented an obvious crime scene.
The province's Special Investigations Unit will look into the off-duty officer's conduct for indications of criminal action - and there were plenty of those - while the investigation into the follow-up conduct of the uniformed police officers will be an internal one. It will be very difficult for this shockingly disturbing event to be hushed up, given the publicity it has received and the resulting outrage of the public. There is reason to anticipate that a full measure of justice will be meted out.
The disquieting thing however, most immediately apparent, is that despite the statements of witnesses and the victim himself, the violent attacker was not immediately suspended, but was 'relegated' to a supervised desk job. That may seem like a harshly temporary demotion to the police, particularly to one as arrogant as the assailant who obviously felt he could comport himself as he wished with his special privileges as a police officer, but doesn't give much comfort to the public.
On the plus side, West Carleton-March Councillor Eli El-Chantiry, chair of the Police Services Board stated the commitment of the board and the city to determining precisely what had occurred with respect to the assault and the puzzling conduct of the uniformed officers who responded to the call for help. "Both incidents are under investigation and I can assure you, as a citizen of the city of Ottawa, as an immigrant myself and as the chair of the police board, no one, and I mean no one is above the law in this country."
A spokesman for the city's chief of police assured the public that the internal police investigation to probe the conduct of the responding police officers will be conducted with a view to determining whether they responded "in a manner that we would normally handle any other member of the community in this type of investigation". Which clearly, they failed to do. Whether taken aback at the bizarre behaviour of one of their own, resulting in confusion over their response, or a deliberately witless attempt at cover-up.
It is, however, the attitude of Mr. Aldoboni, nursing his injuries - his psychical bruising as well as physical damage done to his arm and hand - that confounds. Rather than bitterly denouncing the wholesale lack of professionalism of the police force, he reinforces his earlier opinion of the force as one to which he and other citizens give their trust. He is sufficiently sensitive to the situation as it impacts on the reputation of the Ottawa Police to state that it is his hope the incident does not tarnish the reputation of all officers.
"If we lose trust in our police, to who will we go to seek help?" he asked reasonably, in the process of convalescent, from his bed at home. This is an obviously good-natured and forgiving man. He has five children, and does not plan any time soon to describe to them what happened to their father. Simply because that would undermine what he has always taught them, that police protect the public, they are there, on duty, to ensure that public safety is assured.
"I've never been in a fight with anybody before", he said ruefully. "Now, the first time, it's with a police officer." Well, in fact, he wasn't in a 'fight with' anyone on this occasion. He was the victim of a vicious attack by an obviously malfunctioning human being who just happened also to be a member of a police force, and that's a horrible combination. That, truly, represents a breach of public trust.
Labels: Heros and Villains, Ontario, Values
posted by Pieface | 6:21 PM
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