Tamil Tigers Terrorize Toronto

OK, so the Tamil Tigers didn't actually engage in acts of terrorism but to read published accounts in the Canadian newspapers you would think that 200,000 Tamil Tigers recently invaded Toronto, not withstanding the fact that they have actually been living peacefully in Toronto for many years. Unnoticed.

Suddenly mobilized to protest, the Tamils turned out enmass. Regardless of the diatribe offered in the press, the most remarkable and impressive factor in this protest or demonstration is how the Toronto Police Department handled the event. Actually, three separate events occurring on the same day in different Toronto locations. No police brutality. No beating and clubbing. No shooting and wounding. No tazers and pepper spray. An organized and peaceful protest that demonstrated the advanced skills and ability of Toronto's Police Officers in crowd control. Hats off to the Toronto Police Department !!!

Had the Tamils protested in Los Angeles, for example, there would have been extensive news coverage of the deaths and beatings that resulted from the Los Angeles Police Departments unskilled, or skilled, use of excessive force. Without doubt the death toll would have been substantial and the number of injuries in the hundreds.

The Los Angeles Police Department remains under Federal supervision through a consent decree which attempts to limit the use of brutality, racial profiling, corruption and fraud. Call the LAPD and someone ends up dead or seriously wounded, either the suspect or the victim, or both.

Perhaps that why the Tamils in Southern California remain in the background preferring that their collective voice be heard in countries and cities where their rights are respected. California law enforcement continuously demonstrates a total disregard for the fundamental and constitutional rights of its citizens. When asked why this is so, a police supervisor responded that "We can't go by the book, we have to go snake-like around the rules."

The difference is in sensibility and skill set. Toronto's finest comply with their citizens constitutional rights and respect those rights with an understanding of the importance of doing so. A California cop, on the other hand, wouldn't know a constitutional right if it jumped up and bit him. Not that California citizens are disrespectful towards law enforcement, it's the lack of training and skills required to perform the policing function that make the difference.

In California, law enforcement unions rule, and one rule they have is that their members shall not be subjected to further or additional training classes in order to perform their regular duties. A California law which mandates that police officers take classes to enhance racial sensitivity amongst police officers goes unenforced, the unions having intervened to, in effect, nullify the law. Sphere: Related Content