Two trials in Toronto .
One finished some months ago. The other only just. One ended in a Guilty
verdict. The other in a Not-Guilty one.
Both verdicts of both have made people very upset. One has upset people
who hold a great deal of power; the other, people who hold a great deal less
power. Some are so upset, they want to see the whole system changed.
I don’t care very much about media circuses (though compared
to high profile US trials, these ain’t nuthin’), but I do care very deeply
about due process – as far as rights go, I’d argue it’s just about the
most important one. The one that allows all the others. And during emotional
cases like these, it’s at its most fragile.
The first trial was about a cop who shot a kid. That sounds
bad, but it gets to the heart of the matter. Use “Police Officer opened fire on
a knife-wielding teenager” if you prefer. The whole thing was caught on
Youtube, a lot of people thought the cop didn’t need to shoot (nine times as it
were), there was a trial, and the jury agreed. Officer James Forcillo was found
guilty.
Having never confronted a knife wielder myself, I’m in no
position to judge how someone else should handle the situation. But, like most
Canadians, I’m appalled by gun violence, and when such stories come out I think
it’s entirely fair to ask “was there no other way”? Alas, a lot of the time isn’t. Sometimes
though, there is. That’s what inquiries are for, and when enough questions are
raised, trials.
Officer Forcillo had his day in court. He made his case, he told
his side of the story. The jury heard the evidence, deliberated, and found that
yes, he had used undue force. They found him guilty. Some people are upset
about this (just as many people would have been upset if the trial had gone the
other way) – they think it sends a disturbing message to police, that it
punishes them for doing their jobs. Nothing of the kind. The message it sends
is that they too will be held accountable for their actions, and that nobody is
above the law.
But everybody gets their day in court.
Which brings me to the next trial. . .
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