I was getting on a plane in Toronto yesterday when I heard the news that a van had been intentionally driven into a crowd of people. By the time I landed a few hours later in Calgary, word was that 10 people lost their lives in the attack. Just under 20 were wounded. I assumed that if he was found by the authorities, the alleged driver of the van would be toast. He or she would have no chance to be tried by a jury of peers; no option to stand before a judge. There'd be no justice, save what a bullet, by the driver's own hand or that of a police office, could afford.
This morning when I woke, I was amazed to see that this was not the case. A single Toronto Police Service constable managed to capture a suspect alive in the murder of those ten unfortunate souls. Despite the fact that the suspect menaced the officer, his demanded to be killed, and constantly reached for a firearm – which turned out not to have been there – the suspect ended up in handcuffs instead of a body bag.
The Canadian Broadcast Corporation's got what little footage of the event there is, along with commentary on how a police service that was once known for its heavy-handed tactics identified its aggression as a problem and fought to change its ways. Through frequent deescalation courses, Toronto's Police Service is changing its officer's responses to violent situations, slowly, but with measurable success. Is their police force perfect? Hell no. But its trying to change in the name of better serving the people it is sworn to protect. That's better than nothing. It gives me hope that, no matter how much of a bigoted, bro-cultured mess that law enforcement in Canada and the United States may currently be, it can be changed for the better.
It may take us years or decades to do so, but footage like this makes me believe that we can get there.
Ottawa resident Paul Koch was “shocked” to find a moose in his backyard swimming pool Friday morning. CTV News: “It’s still a mystery to me how she got in the backyard,” Koch said. “She’d have to jump a minimum of a five to five-and-a-half-foot fence to do it.” The moose spent several hours swimming around […]
A 17-year-old boy who killed a woman at an “erotic” spa in Toronto was motivated by “incel ideology”, say police. Charges against the teen, anonymous due to his age, were upgraded to terroristic murder as a result. He was already facing first-degree and attempted murder charges, but the development means police believe the incident was […]
Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau says the country has signed an agreement with Amazon.com for the distribution of critical emergency medical supplies such as masks, face shields, gowns, ventilators, and test kits in the COVID-19 crisis.
The world is holding its collective breath. As states begin cautiously reopening, no one is sure exactly what to expect. But one thing is clear: most Americans are worried about their bank accounts. By the end of March, the average American household was spending 40 percent less on their credit cards than they were one […]
Over 25 years, eBay has carved out its space as the commerce hub of choice online. With 182 million users worldwide, that works out to about 35 percent of all US mobile users who shop those eBay storefronts. But did you know there are usually around 1.3 billion — with a B — active for-sale […]
Software apps are a dime a dozen. Well, if you’re going by their actual monetary cost, maybe not really. But considering how useless some poorly conceived, poorly executed apps are at doing the job you actually downloaded them to accomplish, it isn’t a stretch to think that many apps aren’t even worth a free download. […]
