Not everything is police brutality

April Hudson
Staff Reporter

Feb 08, 2012

You’ve heard this one before: New allegations of police brutality have been incited after a recent videotape surfaced showing a Montreal police officer hitting a protester in the stomach during a peaceful demonstration against tuition hikes last month. An internal investigation has been launched, but so far it’s the word of the protesters against that of the police officer involved.

Alleged police brutality has become a common headline in Canada over the past few years, especially with protests and demonstrations popping up all over. But it’s time to stop seeing justifiable police action as a suppression of free speech and an excessive use of force, and start seeing it for what it is — average people trying to uphold the law and do their jobs, sometimes getting carried away in the process. In the case of the Montreal officer, almost every newspaper that picked up the story lumped him in with another famous case of Montreal police brutality: the repeated tasering of a man in 2007 that led to his death and resulted in the suspension of two officers.

What you don’t get to hear about, and what many of those newspapers left out, are allegations that the protesters in question had surrounded the officers’ vehicles and blocked them from leaving the parking lot. The video of this alleged brutality, taken by one of the protesters, only shows the actions this officer took, leaving out the provocation behind them.

Of course, an unprovoked attack is never acceptable and it should not go unpunished. Even when there is cause for action, use of force should go hand-in-hand with careful consideration. But when an officer is facing hundreds of people yelling at him, and then those people prevent him reaching his vehicle, the question of what constitutes excessive use of force becomes murky — even if the protesters do not physically attack him. Police can understandably feel threatened by large crowds, because they can very quickly turn into riots.

It’s more imperative than ever to see the shades of grey surrounding police action. A simple push or a blow is lumped into the category of police brutality alongside excessive tasering, but there are obviously different degrees of force here.

What’s more, officers who serve in today’s police force are charged with the impossible task of walking an unfairly thin line, in which their judgement is scrutinized from every angle by anxious observers across the country. These people feel obliged to condemn measures taken, even though they may not be aware of the full context of police actions.

In the Vancouver riots following the Stanley Cup finals, police were criticized heavily for not anticipating, preventing and containing the riot. At the same time, as violence broke out in the streets, they were criticized for using brutal methods to fight rioters. It is a win-win situation for provocateurs.

It’s become far too common to blame police and avoid taking personal accountability for finding out what actually happened. In some cases, the officers in question are in the wrong. In many other cases, they are simply doing their job. For this, and for the misdemeanours of a few, the entire force is viewed with suspicion and stuck with allegations of corruption. Police brutality has become not only expected, but encouraged and provoked by demonstrators who consistently push the limits of peaceful protesting looking for a reaction.

It is all too easy — and, frankly, a cop-out — to call something “police brutality.” The term carries weight. It shocks people. It outrages them. The media has a field day with it, the courts throw out cases, and the officer in question has their reputation, and in some cases their career, irrevocably tarnished.

But it’s silly and immature to throw all the blame on the boys in blue no matter the particulars of the situation. The time has come to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. The police force is in place to do a specific job — one that many citizens sometimes find unsavoury. But if you do not have the courage to strap on a uniform and step out on the street beside them to face down threats to public safety, you have no right to blame them for taking warranted measures to ensure that the public remains safe.

© Gateway Student Journalism Society — All Rights Reserved