Ìý
The Star’s interview with Umar Zameer on relief, hope and the stigma of being called a ‘cop killer’, April 22
In light of the Umar Zameer saga, we now must pay attention to our police and demand answers, hold individuals and the organization accountable, and mandate real oversight. That this case made it to trial is a breathtaking failure. His acquittal, however, is a sign that the system worked. 91Ô´´ policing has been in the news in the past few months for all the wrong reasons. There is a problem and let’s not pretend otherwise. We all should be alarmed.
No one should be more concerned than the 91Ô´´ Police Service itself. It must lead the process of review, changes, and repair. City hall needs to take immediate action now. No one benefits from losing respect for or questioning the integrity of the law enforcement agency of 91Ô´´’s biggest city.
Jehad Aliweiwi,Ìý91Ô´´
This is what happens when a city lives in fear
The Umar Zameer case illustrates the tragic consequences that can arise when a city lives in fear. We thought it was a phenomenon restricted to the U.S. where simply knocking on a door at night or jogging while Black could cost lives. But with violent subway incidents, vicious dog attacks, car thefts, home invasions, school shootings and the stoking of ethnic, religious and racial animosities, many are on edge and primed to expect the worst. We took a wrong turn somewhere in the past few decades and now find ourselves in a bad neighbourhood. It’s time to back up and return to, if not 91Ô´´ the good, at least 91Ô´´ the safe.
Anita Dermer,Ìý91Ô´´
Police dress code needs revision
91Ô´´ Police Service should give some consideration to changing the dress code for officers on duty. Do not send out police officers dressed like thugs or hoodlums. In most instances our police should be recognizable as they were in the historical past.
Al Truscott, CollingwoodÌý
Note that no progressive politicians called for the head of an unconvicted citizen
If anyone wonders where the shrill call of uninformed judgment, unsubstantiated rumour and unnecessary, ill-advised bullhorn proclamations start, look no further than three of Ontario’s Conservative leaders, Doug Ford, John Tory and Patrick Brown. All decrying the bail for Umar Zameer prior to his trial. I don’t recall any progressive politicians baying for the head of an unconvicted citizen. I would expect Brown and Tory to know better, but not Ford. How would he know anything about our criminal justice system. His call for “likeminded judges” and for denying bail to accused suspects tells me this man has no business being Premier of Ontario.
Gordon Deane, MississaugaÌý
The ‘police community’ is a big part of the problemÌý
Demkiw referred to a “police community” that wanted a different outcome. Why is there a police community?ÌýÌýI believe that this is a huge part of the problem within the TPS and other police services. They believe themselves apart from the rest of us. They have a job and it’s an important one to society and at times it is a dangerous one but not quite as dangerous as the police make it out to be.Ìý
Officer Northrup was referred to as a hero. Perhaps he was one but not simply by being a police officer. We as a society should disabuse ourselves of the notion that putting on a uniform confers the wearer with the label “Hero.”
Sean Moore,ÌýWeston, ON
Will our policing organizations learn from this tragedy?
Former 91Ô´´ Mayor John Tory says he has “learned” from interfering with the judicial process. I have my doubts. 91Ô´´ Police Chief Myron Demkiw kinda-sorta walked back his comments on the Umar Zameer acquittal, blaming it on the “grief” of the very organization that set in motion the fateful events that led to the death of a police officer.
What about grief for the acquitted man who lost his job, his house, and most of his friends? Who grieves for him and his family? Who will ensure the police change their aggressively bullying tactics that led to this death? Who will ensure that police officers with a track record of untruthfulness are fired for violating the “sacred trust” they say makes them all heroes? Who will ensure that cops don’t collude to bias their own witness statements before trials?
With the grit and determination that brought Zameer and his family to this country, not to mention a little luck and a lot of kindness, this family can and will move on. I’m not convinced that our policing, prosecutorial, and political apparatuses have the motivation to do the same.
Meghan McKie, Kanata
Nothing new here
Premier Doug Ford regularly makes controversial remarks with limited information.
RobertÌýFish,ÌýListowel, ON.
