A case of reverse obstruction of justice?

Tansi/Good Day Readers:

This latest incident involving the use of tasers raises a couple interesting sidebar issues - filming or photographing police activity.

A couple years ago American based Neighbourhood Watch announced it was going to establish another Canadian chapter in Winnipeg. Members planned to patrol high crime areas with video cameras to record suspicious activity, as well as, monitor the police. This immediately raised the question of citizen rights to film law enforcement.

We contacted the RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service with, "What would happen, for example, if an individual filmed an arrest and was observed doing it?" We couldn't get an answer - no one with whom we spoke at the time seemed to know.

Everyone remembers the tragic October 2007 incident at Vancouver International Airport in which Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died after being tasered by RCMP officers. The event was captured on a cellular video phone by a citizen. When the police became aware their actions had been recorded they confiscated the device. Only after the young man threatened to go to court was it returned. We are left to imagine what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's version might have been had the tape not existed.

Yet another troubling situation. After allegedly handcuffing and placing Mr. Paul St. Laurent in a police cruiser, the memory card from his digital camera was removed which he claims police are refusing to return. If true are the police obstructing justice a law they're supposed to uphold? Why doesn't the WPS simply make a copy and return the original to the gentleman?

And what about this? We all know the policy for taser use is essentially the same as that for a handgun but are they issued to all officers on general patrol duty? How many does the WPS have?

The Winnipeg Police Service will not divulge Chief McCaskill's e-mail address only that of his Administrative Assistant so we'll send them a copy of this posting in the hope we get a response.

Sincerely,

Clare L. Pieuk

pbecker@winnipeg.ca

Mike.Mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Gordon.Sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Men Charged In Yesterday's Taser Incident
The Winnipeg Free Press
Updated: August 20 at 11:37 a.m.

Two men Tasered by police in Elmwood Tuesday afternoon have been charged with stolen auto-related offences.

Kyle McKenzie, 21, has been charged with possessing goods obtained by crime, resisting a peace officer, and breaching probation.

Louis Flett, 27, has been charged with possessing goods obtained by crime.

McKenzie and Flett were charged after several Winnipeg police officers from the stolen auto unit chased two men through the East Elmwood residential neighbourhood in the early afternoon.
A police spokesman said that at about 2 p.m. Tuesday, members of the stolen auto unit saw two men enter a stolen vehicle parked in the 300-block of Keenleyside Street.

The suspects fled and were chased by police, who Tasered one man on the grass. Witnesses said the second suspect ran into his mother’s home, where police cornered him in the basement and shot him twice with the Taser device.

Winnipeg Police said there will be no charges laid against a third man who was taken into custody while he was photographing the police chase.

The police spokesman said the third man was taken into custody because he had failed to comply with numerous police requests.

Paul St. Laurent said he was placed in a police cruiser after he refused to stop taking photographs of the police chase. St. Laurent said police removed the memory card from his digital camera and have refused to return it.