Gazette Snark

[wendykh]

From Today's Gazette:

Olivares, whose husband is the janitor of the Abdullahs' apartment building, said Abdullah's mother, Nawin Kakarash, told her on Saturday night, several hours after the shooting, that her son was shot in the back and had injuries to his back and abdomen.

Why does this sound like:

"My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night."

Comments

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

"He's skinny and he's not tall. Could he really hurt the police? We know the police are afraid."

What the hell...

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

To be fair, if cops are scared of unarmed short skinny 18 year olds, they need more training. Seriously.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

He had a knife!!!!

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

OMG A KNIFE! Seriously man, as of late I feel like Montreal cops either lack training or are total wusses.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

If you charge a cop with a knife in your hand, you've lost the ability to reason, or be at all surprised when you end up full of lead.

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

in your back?

A friend of mine's sister is a cop and she was kind of shocked in training because when we were growing up, the idea was the cops were there to protect and serve, to cause as minimal damage as possible. Now their number one priority is to make sure no cops are hurt. Which means if you're in the way, well, yeah.

I'm honestly very disturbed by how many very young minimally trained officers are making up the majority of our police force now.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

Whoa, are we talking about a month ago, or yesterday?

For the case last month, I'll wait for the SQ report. For yesterdays, I agree in full with the Mayor. Attacking a police officer for -any- reason is absolutely ridiculous and any citizen who tries that loses their right to not get tased or shot.

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

I guess what bothers me is how did this kid get shot in the back if he was "coming right at them." I also think our officers should know how to defend themselves without using deadly force. This seems like a good time to use a taser. Why was a gun used? I find Montreal cops are very nervous, scared, and "OMFG SHOOT FIRST ASK QUESTIONS LATER!" in most instances.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

WHICH CASE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?!

[dzuunmod.livejournal.com]

I am really upset that you've moved your rapid-fire comment act uptown.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

You get too ignory with me. Wendy can handle me.

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

A lot of them. Last month's, this one, the Basil Parasiris case although that was in Laval, many many many times I've encountered them at protests/demos/marches. Fuck they sent not one not two not three but FOUR busses of riot cops to not even arrest but merely remove Yves Engler from Concordia property one time (and even the right wing goody two shoes nerd students were like "wtf???"). I just do not see a lot of confident, well trained, mature officers these days. They always seem jumpy and edgy and shitty. Particularly when dealing with youth and homeless people. They generally don't bother me because short cherub faced rounded pregnant ladies don't scare them, but the difference between how they treat me when giving me a ticket "can you come over to the car window, bring me your stuff" versus how they treat my husband "DO NOT MOVE. PLACE YOUR HANDS ON THE WINDOW WHERE I CAN SEE THEM. NOW!!" is astonishing.

You know how you always hear cops are trained to say, shoot the legs so as to not mortally wound a suspect? Well guess what, in Montreal that's bullshit. "We're supposed to do that in theory, but it's really hard so they say unless you know how, just shoot them. So no one learns how." (via my cop friend.) You know how you're supposed to use a taser unless a gun is necessary? "The thing is, tasers are new, so it's kind of natural reaction to just grab the gun instead. Plus a lot of members don't trust they will work for sure."

I've had a lot of family in military and trained as officers, and my experiences with Montreal police, even in comparison to my family who were former SQ officers, are just... markedly different. I'm not seeing (overall) confident, secure, calm and assertive officers (except at the Tam Tams). They remind me more of paranoid cokeheads for the most part. Really.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

I don't doubt that things have changed, but that is the way things are now. This city is on edge, and more shootings are certainly not wanted, but I would never ever ask any law-enforcement official put their life or health at risk over that of a crazed teenager making agressive movements towards them.

Cops getting shot through doors by elephant guns isn't right either Wendy, and when the low income neighbourhoods are blowing up propane tanks in their own front yards cause they're "mad," then we have a serious problem that, lets be honest here, is not entirely the fault of the police.

Until someone (the mayor?) steps up and puts at least SOME of the responsibility on the citizens and the criminals, then I see no reason for the police to change their tactics. I'll be brutally honest, if I have to choose between one dead teenager who charges cops with a knife (or has his friends put a cop in a headlock) versus a dead cop, I'll pick the teenager every time.

I was a teenager and I never EVER would have thought of disrespecting an officer, so why is it okay now?

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

I just really don't see where teens need to die for disrespect. I think the bigger problem is people don't trust the police. I think people in general see the same thing I do, a bunch of edgy poorly trained immature and far too young and under qualified officers.

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

Like I said, when you're brandishing a knife at someone, you've long since passed the point where you're disrespecting someone. If someone showed up at your door yesterday and charged you with a knife no on in their right mind would blame you if you fatally wounded him. Why is law enforcement somehow excempt from this? Is a knife to the face any -less- dangerous to police officers?

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

Because law enforcement officers should be trained better than to shoot short skinny teens with knives. JMHO.

[dzuunmod.livejournal.com]

I think people in general see the same thing I do, a bunch of edgy poorly trained immature and far too young and under qualified officers.

It really does seem like I *never* see a cop who's more than, say, 5 years older than I am anymore, and this is not just that I'm getting older myself.

[wendykh.livejournal.com]

and don't forget, my point was more wtf is with the Gazette sourcing and writing in this article?!

[sourdick.livejournal.com]

No, I know, but I love to comment, and you can never tell which direction I'll head-in in any given thread. :)

[sherina.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHAHA! OMG that is the best screwed up sentence I've ever read.

I'm thinking of applying to write for The Gazette. Clearly my blog media experience gives me a leg up on the people who are writing like this.