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The RCMP Beat (ing) Goes On - Mantler Trial - 18 Months suspended sentence (post #144)


Wetcoaster

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Anyone witness the police beatings during the olympics? I first hand witnessed 2 friends beaten unconscious and beaten back awake.

They were thrown into a circle of about 30 cops all standing back to back so you couldn't see in the circle, while other cops beat them close to death. It started with the one fried and once the other spoke up, we has tossed into the circle.

These circles were seen everywhere.

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Every BC municipal police officer is trained in the use of force continuum as it is part of the training. Here is the VPD training based on the National Use of Force Model:

http://www.braidwoodinquiry.ca/presentations/clive_milligan.pdf

Here is the VPD Regulations and Procedures Manual:

http://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/manuals/vpd-manual-regulations-procedures.pdf

The RCMP gets similar training known as IMIM (Incident Management/Intervention Model)Recently due to criticism of the RCMP training model the RCMP's IMIM was brought in line with that of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP)’s National Use of Force Framework (NUFF) with a view to a common vocabulary and common approaches to the use of force by police agencies across Canada. :

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ccaps-spcca/cew-ai/imim-migi-eng.htm

However that is something different from actual use of deadly force by way of firearms training.

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There's training, and then there's TRAINING, where you build basic skills to a high level and then expand into elaborate scenario and force-on-force type training. Right now I doubt any police department anywhere in North American recieves the depth and intensity {though not necessarily the same type} of training I'm talking about other than SWAT guys and maybe certain special units.

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A charge of assault causing bodily harm has been recommended by police investigators against RCMP Constable Geoff Mantler for his kick to the head of Buddy Tavares.

The actual report has yet to go to Crown Counsel for charge approval and the investigation is continuing??? Normally these announcements are made after the report to Crown has been made but it seems the police are trying to quell strong emotions in the face of the protest demonstration scheduled to take place about one hour after the announcement of the pending charge.

Abbotsford Police have recommended a charge of assault causing bodily harm against a Kelowna RCMP officer.

The officer, identified as Const. Geoff Mantler, was involved in the Jan. 7 arrest of Kelowna man Buddy Tavares.

The arrest, at the Harvest Golf Course in Kelowna, was caught on video by a news photographer. Police were responding to a call about gunshots at the golf course.

The video allegedly shows Tavares being kicked in the head by a police officer while he was on his knees.

Just an hour before a noon protest in Kelowna today organized in response to the video, Abbotsford Police issued a press release saying they will recommend the officer be charged.

They said their investigation, involving 40 witnesses, was near completion.

“Only administrative tasks and the written submission of the Report to Crown Counsel remain,” the release said.

On Saturday Kelowna RCMP Sgt. Bill McKinnon told reporters he was concerened today’s protest could involve “civil disobedience” based on online comments. McKinnon urged those involved to remain calm.

http://www.theprovince.com/Investigators+recommend+assault+charge+against+Kelowna+RCMP+officer/4117040/story.html#ixzz1BEMvyu4H

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The protest by about 250 (some estimates say 300) people in Kelowna against the alleged assault by (hopefully former) Kelowna RCMP Constable Geoff Mantler went peacefully. Even a former police officer was appalled by Mantler's actions and called for suspension without pay and termination of Mantler's position with the RCMP.

Some of the protesters wore this sign taped to their backs:

1295220793de1.jpg

Peaceful brutality protest

by Daniel Hayduk - Story: 59515

Jan 16, 2011 / 3:30 pm

Despite his bruised face and bloodshot eye, Buddy Tavares couldn't stop smiling.

As approximately 250 protesters filed past on their way to the Kelowna RCMP detachment, Tavares reflected on his situation.

"I'm here to support everybody else -- everybody is supporting me. I was one of the lucky ones," says Tavares.

Tavares, who is still wobbly on his feet, says he was persuaded to attend the protest after 'an incredible amount of phone calls, Facebook messages and emails.'

"I think it makes a strong message. Strength in numbers."

At noon Sunday, protesters gathered in City Park where some taped 'kick me' signs to each others' backs.

From there, under the watchful eye of the RCMP, they marched through downtown to the RCMP detachment on Doyle Avenue.

Among the protesters was a former police officer, who says he had never considered participating in a rally until he saw the video of RCMP Constable Geoff Mantler kicking Buddy Tavares in the face.

"I've seen take downs, been in take downs - I've seen everything. There was absolutely no justification for this. It should be an immediate suspension without pay and termination of the job after the investigation," says the officer, who asked not to be identified.

He says RCMP members are appalled by the incident.

"I never seen anything like it, ever. Not even close."

http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/59515/Peaceful-brutality-protest

cf0f796d4786b9ac80327a75d960.jpeg

More photographs of the rally:

http://www.chbcnews.ca/Rally+against+police+brutality/4117144/story.html

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Anyone witness the police beatings during the olympics? I first hand witnessed 2 friends beaten unconscious and beaten back awake.

They were thrown into a circle of about 30 cops all standing back to back so you couldn't see in the circle, while other cops beat them close to death. It started with the one fried and once the other spoke up, we has tossed into the circle.

These circles were seen everywhere.

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One would think this would be the kind of thing the cops want to stamp out badly as it makes them look terrible. If anything they SHOULD be pursuing this extra hard.

Whether or not that will be how it plays out remains to be seen. However, if they don' t come down hard on this guy, I could see myself seriously trending towards the wetcoaster view of the cops.

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How about the drunk West Van cop who beat the newspaper delivery person for no reason at all - it was not even incident to a lawful arrest. He was convicted of assault and received a 21-day conditional sentence plus six-months probation from the courts.

Oh BTW here is how this paragon of police virtue acted towards the VPD officers who arrested him at the scene:

West Vancouver police constable Griffin Gillan was so drunk when he was arrested by Vancouver police outside the Hyatt Regency on Jan. 20, 2009 that he yelled, spat on a police car and seemed in danger of falling over, according to officers on the scene.

If a non-police officer did such a thing do you think there would be additional charges laid?

The recommended punishment for this drunken lout from the "independent" police agency who investigated his professional conduct after the conviction? That he be reduced in rank from constable to probationary constable and be given a 10-day unpaid suspension. That should teach him, eh?

The BC Police Complaints Commissioner was so appalled he finally had to intervene and the hearings are now going on to determine if this moron should be terminated from the West Van police force. IMHO termination should have been the initial recommendation.

And the New West police officer currently before the courts charged with assault and theft of Khan's cellphone following the drunken melee that involved two other off-duty police officers and for which the drunk Gillan was convicted?

His view is that he should be treated differently because he is a police officer. :blink:

Because he was a police officer, New Westminster Const. Jeffrey Klassen expected special treatment when he was arrested, he testified Friday.

He said he was angry and frustrated when he was handcuffed.

"I didn't think handcuffing me and searching me was necessary," Klassen told a Vancouver Provincial Court judge.

The prosecutor, Ralph Keefer, suggested to Klassen that he didn't want to be searched because he had the cellphone of the man he is accused of assaulting.

"That couldn't be further from the truth," the officer said.

He said he thought the arresting officer, a rookie Klassen had trained in the use of force at the police academy, should have used his discretion and allowed Klassen to sit in the police car without being handcuffed.

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I would agree with him, but probably not in the way that he is thinking. People in a position of trust that violate that trust should be given the harshest punishments, not the other way around.

That he does not seem to understand the protocols for when someone is arrested, combined with the fact that he feels the law somehow doesn't apply to him, should mean immediate termination IMO.

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It seems this is not the first allegation of excessive force being levelled against Constable Geoff Mantler. In November he allegedly assaulted Jeremy Packer who he mistakenly thought was stealing a boat . Packer was seizing the boat for his employer for non-payment of repairers bill. Packer filed a written complaint in November 2010.

Another Kelowna resident is complaining of alleged police brutality, and it involves a familiar face.

Jeremy Packer says he was punched repeatedly by a Kelowna RCMP officer on August 10, 2010.

CHBC News has now learned the name of that officer: Constable Geoff Mantler, who was caught on tape kicking Buddy Tavares in the head earlier this month.

Packer, who was working for Tru North Marine, was towing a boat across the Bennett Bridge when he was stopped by police.

RCMP had received a complaint Packer was stealing the boat, but he says he was re-possessing it for non-payment of a repair bill.

He says the police had their guns drawn and told him to put his hands up in the air.

Packer complains Mantler then ripped the door open, pulled him out of the truck and down to the ground and punched him several times in the face.

Packer says he did not resist arrest and was not attempting to flee.

He filed a formal complaint against the RCMP in November about the incident.

A written response from a senior Mountie reveals Mantler is the officer in question.

Packer says Mantler should be fired.

In relation to the Buddy Tavares incident, Abbotsford police are recommending a charge of assault causing bodily harm against the Kelowna RCMP officer. The videotaped incident occurred as police responded to a call about gunshots at Harvest Golf Course in Kelowna, where Tavares had previously worked. Tavares, 51, has been charged with careless use of a firearm “in relation to a domestic violence situation that is still under investigation,” the RCMP has said.

The officer, who has been identified as Const. Mantler, was initially placed on desk duty, but the RCMP said he has now been suspended from duty with pay until further notice.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Another+victim+alleged+Kelowna+police+brutality+speaks/4141344/story.html#ixzz1BegAa83n

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