Stop the attacks on mentally disabled Parkdale residents

Time out from talk of elections.

Sixty-two-year-old George Wass died earlier this week after someone attacked him on the steps of a Parkdale rooming house last Friday. He was hospitalized briefly and then released. He had been kicked repeatedly in the head and the ribs. He suffered two cracked ribs, cuts to his head and face, a black eye, and had trouble breathing. The autopsy said he died from blunt force trauma to the chest.

It was the fifth attack on a mentally disabled Parkdale resident since January. It's believed that the same person is behind all the attacks.

This video from Paisley Rae is a response to George's death.



Can't really add much to it.

Putting Officer Bubbles in context

As this video from the Real News suggests, the focus on one power-tripping cop obscured the broader story of how the police were abusing the power of preventive detention.  Apparently wearing a bandana and having a lawyer's phone number written on your arm were reason enough for them to target you.



I'm sure an independent inquiry will get to the bottom of this.

UPDATE:  More detail about Officer Josephs and assholes in uniform generally from the often-snarky, always-worthwhile Sabina Becker.  Knowing that guys like this think of us as human garbage and don't like the thought of being held accountable really makes you think twice about taking to the streets.  Just a coincidence, I'm sure.