FIGHTING THE POWER

Ottawa XPress, Thursday October 2, 2003

JAMES SINCLAIR

It's a thin blue line indeed, between "protect and serve" and "repress and overpower." Following recent accusations of police brutality, The Ottawa Witness Group is organizing a weekend teach-in October 3-5 at St. Paul's University to discuss what to do when citizens think police cross the line.

Paul Durber, an organizer of the event, said police need to be more accountable and transparent. He cited police pepper-spraying squatters on Gilmour Street in July 2002 and using Tasers on protestors at the Minister of Immigration's office this past May as examples of police overstepping their bounds.

As X Press reported in June, protestors inside the Minister of Immigration's office (they were supporting Algerian detainees) were stormed by police with Tasers firing. One protestor said he was pistol whipped by an officer and then Tasered in the genitals.

Staff Sgt. Monique Ackland, in charge of media relations for the Ottawa police, said police are in touch with the Witness Group and an officer will likely attend the meeting, but refused to comment any further.

"Over the last five years in particular we have become accustomed to a level of police repression that I've never seen in this country before against political action," said Judy Rebick, founder of rabble.ca and one of the speakers at the opening teach-in Friday evening. She said she will talk about the criminalization of dissent in Canada.

John Sewell, a former mayor of Toronto and member of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, a monitoring group similar to the Ottawa Witness Group, said he plans to talk about police policy and the overall lack of accountability. In his opinion, it all stems from a lack of debate.

"It's extraordinarily difficult to have a debate about any policing issue in Ontario. People won't do it. They're terrified. Politicians get
terrified because ... they think if you talk about policing issues you're somehow soft on crime. So, it's really important that we begin debating policing in a more serious way."

Tickets for the whole weekend cost $20, or $10 for low wage earners. Check members.rogers.com/witnessgroup/ or phone 237-5337 for registration forms and more info.

JAMES SINCLAIR