The Authority of Police: Is it correctly

managed?
Abdulbari Syed
SOCC11
April 3, 2020
 State-Police all over the world, particularly in North America, have been heavily

criticized over the past few years in regards to how they utilize their powers. In recent years,

there have been numerous reports of state-police and peace-officers, engaging in police-

brutality and harassment of innocent citizens. However, it is important to note that sometimes

the cases of aggression caused by the police are due to government discretion and not the

police’s alone. It is commonly believed by the general public that police are able to “do

whatever they want” due to the power given to them by the state. Many instances of

irresponsibility by the police include illegitimate arrests, exploitation of city resources and, the

most criticized issue, unlawful use of force resulting in injury or death. During confrontations,

police officers have deferred to the use of physical force to arrest suspects or diffuse situations;

this use of force has resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians. Canada does not

currently have an active Police-Force but rather, we have cities and provinces that offer Police-

Services (Hermer, 2020). This means that we have not been able to fully establish an

organization that properly “enforces” law and order. Alternatively, we have various

organizations that offer police services with different mission statements and objectives. As a

result, we have a flawed system of policing. This is one of the reasons as to why Policing in

North-America is flawed as police services have not fully been able to establish a chain of

command, rules of engagement and a collective objective. The question I wish to address is: Is

the power that policing is granted, treated responsibly by the Police and authorities in North

America? I would argue that it is not correctly maintained or limited and often abused by the

authorities, as demonstrated by the many cases of police brutality we have seen in the past. I

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will be highlighting cases of police harassment, carelessness and abuse in this writing piece to

emphasise and explain the lack of management police services have regarding the use of force.

Our working definition of Policing is “Any activity expressly designed and intended to

establish and maintain/enforce a defined order within a community” (Cooley, 2012). We have

discussed in class that this definition is not a perfect definition; we have taken the incident

when a racist individual stopped a man in a grocery store because of his appearance. Despite

this individual’s prejudice, he fits the definition of policing. That means the Police, and

Community-Police in North America can apply prejudice tactics when enforcing the law and still

remain within the state-given authority. The scale of police abuse and mismanagement varies

depending on who is being affected. Groups of people can be affected or just individuals can

be affected by abuse of power. Sammy Yattim, an individual from Toronto was gunned down by

the Police for wielding a knife without displaying any threatening signs on a public transit bus

(Bud, 2016). The power given to the police was mismanaged and was abused by the police

officer in question, resulting in the death of an innocent individual. On the other hand, groups

of people can be targeted by policing and this results in prejudice.

In regards to the lack of a Police-Force, we need to understand what a Police-Force is. A

Police-Force’s main duty is to establish order and work towards a collective goal. This includes

arresting offenders of the law (defined-order), preventing crime, protecting individuals, and

protecting properties; maintain peace and public order 24 hours a day (Martin, 1999). Police-

Forces are very similar to the military, with a large structure and chain of command; everyone is

responsible for their actions and is under a higher individual/group. We can vividly see the

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difference between a Force and Services during the Ipperwash crisis. This will be elaborated on

later.

In this writing piece, however, I aim to focus on a group that has faced constant

aggression through policing services and the government. The Aboriginal community has

frequently been targeted by the police and faces prejudice by the authorities.

To connect this topic to our definition of Policing, Laws and rules are established by the

government; the main duty of policing is to maintain the practice of these laws, as our

definition states. However, some of these rules and policies are prejudice against specific

communities or individuals (Hedican, 2012). I will explain this through several cases in Canadian

history involving the Police and some of the Aboriginal communities and families.

The government has displayed and carried out actions of aggression through the use of

the police (Edward, 2012). The government may have plans for a particular plot of land or

residential area and will use the police to occupy or clear the land for their operations.

Members of the Aboriginal community will then peacefully protest which then causes the

government to give orders to violently react. This results in members of the Police to follow

orders that may not fall into the category of “acting in good faith” and results in misuse of

power. Sometimes the government may have no part in a case of prejudice against Native-

Canadians or any other ethnic group.

For example, we have the case of Maxwell Johnson in Vancouver. A Native-Canadian

man with his 12-year-old granddaughter went to a Bank of Montreal to open an account; the

police were called on them and they were accused of committing fraud. Both Maxwell Johnson

and his granddaughter were handcuffed and taken to the police station (Hermer, 2020). The

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Bank staff had acknowledged the mistake they made and apologized for it. However, the police

of Vancouver defended their actions as they acted “in good faith.” They have initiated an

investigation to find out whether the bank staff was simply mistaken or if they were racially

profiling the family. This may seem like a gesture of apology for the family, but for the rest of

the Aboriginal community, it sparks concern. Why was a 12-year-old handcuffed? If they were

Caucasian, would they still have been handcuffed? The police were called to the scene and

believed that an actual case of fraud was being committed, so with their power, they decided to

arrest the family. Policing, in this case, is an example of unrestricted power. Arresting a 12-year-

old will install trauma and fear of the police into someone that young. In regards to the topic of

improper Police-Power management, the authorities here have indirectly harassed an innocent

family and failed to acknowledge the mistake they made. In the repot, the Police did state that

it seemed that an actual fraud was being conducted (Hermer, 2020). That is understandable,

officers are humans too and mistakes like that are possible. The part that displays the abuse of

power is that a 12 year-old girl was handcuffed in public and that the police did not

acknowledge the mistake they made. The organization reportedly fired the employees that

claimed that fraud was being committed (Hermer, 2020). The Police of Vancouver should have

followed what the bank did and investigate the actions of the police. This would be the

responsible move with the power policing has. Accept the mistake you made, apologize and try

to compensate for it.

As mentioned earlier, the Aboriginal community has had a generally negative view of

Police Services. Not necessarily community policing or individuals contributing to the safety of

their communities, but organizations that we call “The Police” (Hedican, 2012). This dislike does

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not point directly to the Police, but rather towards the different Provincial governments that

disregard the requests of the aboriginal community. This disregard leads to protests and in

response, the government orders the police to counter the protests, which usually refer to

violent means.

Take the case of The Ipperwash Crisis. In 1995, members of the Ojibway Aboriginal tribe

occupied a national park that belonged to them before World War 2; aboriginal community

members were then shot at by the Ontario Provincial Police resulting in the death of a member,

Dudley George (Frideres, 2014). The shooting may appear to be a result of the Police’s

discretion but was actually the result of an order given by the government (Hermer, 2019). For

a police officer, this would be an order established by the government they work for. By

shooting at the occupiers, they are simply obeying orders. This is ethically not acting in good

faith, as taking the life of another for peacefully protesting is morally incorrect, but the way the

police are managed, they had the power to do so without fear of consequences in their mind.

The officers in question are taken into account only after the damage has been done. To them,

they are simply following orders. The Police-Aboriginal relations are extremely weak and filled

with animosity (Frideres, 2014). Before the Police’s arrival, the Military were still established at

Ipperwash. When the Aboriginals came to move the Military personal, the military left without

any confrontation; they wanted no part in possible civil rights case (Hermer, 2019). The Police

on the other hand confronted them head-on. A police-force would have taken similar actions to

the military because of similarities in chain-of-command. The Police-Services have not fully

incorporated this chain-of-command however. They had the power to shoot on sight, and they

used it without legitimate reason and without the correct consultation. If Policing was properly

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managed, the tragedy of Ipperwash would have never happened. Both the government and the

police are to blame for this event. If the government had a firm understanding of what the

police are to do, they would limit the power the police had. If the police fully understood what

“acting in good faith” meant, they would have declined the order to fire upon the protestors,

even at the risk of losing their own jobs. What does it mean to sell your morality for the sake of

your job? As humans, we aim to keep our dignity and standards upheld at all times. The open-

ended spectrum of the police’s power during this time however, blurs the lines of what is right

and what is wrong to the police; this is a result of improper management of power.

Another event very similar to the crisis of Ipperwash had the same issue of Power-

Management. In the year of 1995, a one-month long standoff took place between the Police

and, once again, an Indigenous community at Gustafsen Lake. Members of the Ts’peten

community acquitted some land that they would use for a religious ceremony. The landowner,

however, sent an eviction notice to the community, which the community decided not to obey.

The RCMP planned to invade the land which made the Aboriginal community members feel

that their religion was being threatened. So they took up arms and a standoff occurred

(Hedican, 2012). One aspect of this event that may blur the issue of whether this was a case of

mismanagement of power or the Police acting in good faith: It is difficult to determine who shot

first, the police or the Aboriginals and for what reason. One report says that the Ts’petens fired

at the RCMP first as they were seen trying to enter the area. However, another report states

that a group of farmers yelled racist remarks and fired warning shots at the occupiers; the

occupiers then felt threatened and armed themselves with weapons, a case of self-defense.

After they realized that the police were not doing much about the racist threats they received,

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they retaliated against what they thought was a prejudice act by the police (Shrubsole, 2011). A

similar event with the same controversy happened in America in the year of 1993. In the town

of Waco, a religious settlement was about to be raided by the police when a standoff broke out

between the settlers and the police. The issue of “who shot first” was contested here as well.

The government report states that the settlers shot first while some other sources stated that

the Police fired first (Putzel, 1993). A question of aggression or enforcing the law is then

brought up. The same case with Gustafsen Lake. The standoff resulted in the death of one

person. An unarmed man was crossing a no-shoot zone and was shot and killed by the Police

(Shrubsole, 2011). The confrontation ended peacefully with the Indigenous members

surrendering and being arrested. They were sentenced to Prison time for weapon possession

and property rights. How is this related to my topic? The police had made mistakes that

question the power and authority of the police. The shooting of the unarmed man causes

spectators to question whether the police acted in good faith, or whether they were abusing

power given to them in the situation, similar to the killing of Dudley George. When the police

were given the rules of engagement, were they properly relayed to the officers? Were the

responding officers selected haphazardly or carefully? Were the officers on the scene properly

trained to deal with non-combatants? Why did the police take such an aggressive approach

when non-combatants were present? If these were taken into consideration and the power of

the police was managed correctly, then this particular crisis would have been resolved without

any unnecessary bloodshed; similar to the Ipperwash crisis.

Now, aside from the unnecessary violence, the presence of the Police there draws

media and a lot of attention to the aboriginal community. Throughout the 90s, there have

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been multiple cases of Indigenous communities and State-Police engaging in conflict. Whether

it is the Ipperwash occupations of 1995 or Gustafsen Lake crisis of the same year; all this draws

attention to the Police and Indigenous communities and sparks questions as to why do the

Police and Aboriginals dispute on a frequent basis? If we study Canadian history, we know that

Native-Canadians have always been seen as the Underdogs and are disregarded (Julian and

Jonathan, 2011). Because of this negative image, the Police are more-likely to be listened to at

conferences and interviews; this results in the negative image of the Indigenous being

reinforced with bad colours (Furniss, 2001). The Police also have a role in being honest with the

public about their actions and operations. As mentioned earlier, something very similar

happened during the Waco incident in the USA. The FBI had stated that they had no intention

to use pyrotechnics during the siege. However, they later confessed that they had used

Pyrotechnics (Putzel, 1993). Who do the people trust now? After they promised not to use

explosives and endanger the safety of innocent parties, they backed on their word and went

forward with them anyhow. In Canada, if the Police lie about their actions or provide inaccurate

reports, who do the people trust? Since the aboriginal communities have a history of bad blood

with the police, who will they trust to help them in a serious crisis? This issue falls under the

topic of power abuse by the Police. As the police have the capabilities of abusing their power,

they also have the ability to narrate stories and events to their discretion/liking. Some officers

end up selling their honor for their own selfish gain. If Police-power was not mismanaged and

abused, the Police would always inform the public of every detail during encounters with the

public. If they could not guarantee anything, they would simply say that to the public rather

than lying to the communities they are serving. Policing has several responsibilities that come

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with it, and one of the most important is how they carry themselves. If they hold a strong

image, they are trusted by the public. If they hold a deceptive image, then the public must rely

on themselves for protection, security and safety.

Power-Management is a complicated issue when it comes to these types of situations

involving the police and a mix of threats and non-threats. But the lives of innocent people are at

risk when authority is not correctly managed or treated irresponsibly. We have seen this occur

multiple times to individuals or groups of people, but when these groups consistently share the

same ethnicity, the notion of targeting is inevitably received by the public. Dudely George, an

innocent man, was shot and killed by the Police at Ipperwash while peacefully protesting. Then

within the same year, the Gustafsen lake standoff takes place with the Ts’peten aboriginal

community. Now, in the year 2020, Maxwell Johnson along with his grand-daughter are falsely

accused and arrested for fraud. The public as a whole will develop a different attitude towards

the police and policing in general with abuse of power being the main issue of concern. Those

who engage in policing must develop a firm mindset to always act in good faith and fully

understand what that means. Those who manage the police must also learn what needs to be

limited and who has authority over what. The lack of an official Police-Force is also a reason for

this issue. Police-Services are mandatory in society, but if a chain of command is not

established, We as a society need to have firm faith in policing in order to feel safe in our own

communities, but in order for that to happen, the authority and power of the police needs to

be properly managed and handled.

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