Take the Power Back: The scales are tipped
G20 defendant and indigenous political
prisoner Ryan Rainville was finally released
from prison on bail November 9 after spending
more than three months in jail on allegations
of indictable mischief and other
charges. Rainville, a good friend of mine, is
of the Sakimay nation and is a strong proponent
of indigenous sovereignty and antiracism.
Canada has an ongoing history of criminalizing and incarcerating native peoples. Today, indigenous people like Rainville are more than six times as likely to be imprisoned than non-natives. Here is the sick and twisted truth about the priorities of our legal system. Rainville is being accused of hitting a police car's window with a piece of wood while a police officer was in the vehicle. He was kept in prison for over three months and denied bail several times, because of this act that did not physically harm anyone. However, if he had hit his girlfriend over the head with that stick he would have been released on bail after a day or two in custody. This is another case of a judicial system that values property and the smooth functioning of the status quo, more than the lives and wellbeing of people.
It is also another example of how tipped the scales are whenever the justice system is dealing with an incident involving police. If there is ever violence or intimidation against police officers, the accused get the book thrown at them. But when cops stray from the law they seemingly away with it. Sometimes they even get paid leaves and promotions.
There are hundreds of examples of power abuse by police in Ontario, but there is one case before the court today that could change that. Unwilling to accept the status quo, a family of an Ontario man allegedly murdered by the Ontario Provincial Police is pursuing legal action for systemic change. This case is of interest to us all because it could lead to a landmark ruling that would force a greater degree of accountability and challenge police impunity. The case in question is that of Levi Schaeffer.
In the spring of 2009 Schaeffer, a young man from Peterborough, went camping on "crown land" in northern Ontario near the town of Pickle Lake. It was there that two OPP officers invaded his campsite and shot him dead in a matter of minutes. The officers were supposedly investigating a "stolen boat," but there were no boats at Schaeffer's campsite. The officers also used their own private boat to access the site, not an official police vehicle. They never attempted nonviolent ways to intervene. They didn't even attempt to aim their guns at non-lethal regions of the body. They went for the kill. When other police arrived, the shooting officer and his partner (the only witness) were not segregated even though by law it is required to ensure independent accounts of events. They were also instructed by their superiors to hold off on their notes, even though by law they are required to make notes as soon as they can and before the end of their shifts. The notes, which were eventually written days later, were both vetted by a police union lawyer before being handed over to the Special Investigations Unit, a law enforcement agency notorious for clearing police officers of any wrongdoing in the great majority of cases it investigates.
The SIU never laid charges against the shooting officer in this case because "they had no informational basis for determining what probably happened." Seems as though the notes didn't give them much to go on. Schaeffer's family and friends have started a coalition to take their fight for accountability to the Ontario Court of Justice where they are challenging the OPP practice of "note vetting" and jointly retained counsel by subject and witness officers involved in SIU investigations. These practices are a major way police avoid being held accountable and are made to be above the law.
More details about Justice for Levi available at justiceforlevi.org
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Canada has an ongoing history of criminalizing and incarcerating native peoples. Today, indigenous people like Rainville are more than six times as likely to be imprisoned than non-natives. Here is the sick and twisted truth about the priorities of our legal system. Rainville is being accused of hitting a police car's window with a piece of wood while a police officer was in the vehicle. He was kept in prison for over three months and denied bail several times, because of this act that did not physically harm anyone. However, if he had hit his girlfriend over the head with that stick he would have been released on bail after a day or two in custody. This is another case of a judicial system that values property and the smooth functioning of the status quo, more than the lives and wellbeing of people.
It is also another example of how tipped the scales are whenever the justice system is dealing with an incident involving police. If there is ever violence or intimidation against police officers, the accused get the book thrown at them. But when cops stray from the law they seemingly away with it. Sometimes they even get paid leaves and promotions.
There are hundreds of examples of power abuse by police in Ontario, but there is one case before the court today that could change that. Unwilling to accept the status quo, a family of an Ontario man allegedly murdered by the Ontario Provincial Police is pursuing legal action for systemic change. This case is of interest to us all because it could lead to a landmark ruling that would force a greater degree of accountability and challenge police impunity. The case in question is that of Levi Schaeffer.
In the spring of 2009 Schaeffer, a young man from Peterborough, went camping on "crown land" in northern Ontario near the town of Pickle Lake. It was there that two OPP officers invaded his campsite and shot him dead in a matter of minutes. The officers were supposedly investigating a "stolen boat," but there were no boats at Schaeffer's campsite. The officers also used their own private boat to access the site, not an official police vehicle. They never attempted nonviolent ways to intervene. They didn't even attempt to aim their guns at non-lethal regions of the body. They went for the kill. When other police arrived, the shooting officer and his partner (the only witness) were not segregated even though by law it is required to ensure independent accounts of events. They were also instructed by their superiors to hold off on their notes, even though by law they are required to make notes as soon as they can and before the end of their shifts. The notes, which were eventually written days later, were both vetted by a police union lawyer before being handed over to the Special Investigations Unit, a law enforcement agency notorious for clearing police officers of any wrongdoing in the great majority of cases it investigates.
The SIU never laid charges against the shooting officer in this case because "they had no informational basis for determining what probably happened." Seems as though the notes didn't give them much to go on. Schaeffer's family and friends have started a coalition to take their fight for accountability to the Ontario Court of Justice where they are challenging the OPP practice of "note vetting" and jointly retained counsel by subject and witness officers involved in SIU investigations. These practices are a major way police avoid being held accountable and are made to be above the law.
More details about Justice for Levi available at justiceforlevi.org
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
