Ottawa cop charged with sexual assault in Stacy Bonds case

Well, well, well.

The Special Investigations Unit has charged Sgt. Steve Desjourdy with sexual assault in connection with an incident dating back to September 2008. Links from CBC, Globe, and CTV.

Ottawa cops and sex-assault claims

It seems the Ottawa police throw out complaints of sexual assault at a rate ten times that of any other crime.

Now why do you suppose that could be? [cough] Stacy Bonds [cough]

The things you find on the intertoobz ...

Hey, a freebie! Or, perhaps, one of those cheap plastic prizes you get in cereal boxes ...

If anyone feels like having a full and frank exchange of views with one of the mouthpieces for the Ottawa cops regarding the Stacy Bonds scandal, he appears to have provided his name and phone number here:

S/Sgt. Michel Marin
Ottawa Police Service
Professional Standards Section
613-236-1222 ext 5830

Haven't tried it myself, but if anyone does, please tell us about it in the comments ...

(H/t Dr. Dawg.)

A truly great newspaper ...

... doesn't follow the herd.

The Blue Wall is a threat to public safety

At some point, the whole discourse based on some spurious distinction between brutal sadistic bastards in police uniforms and the so-called "good" cops needs to be tossed out. I'd respectfully submit that we've passed that point.

Thwap hits one out of the park

A lot's been written and posted about Stacy Bonds and the vicious cowardly scumbags in Ottawa police uniforms who beat and sexually assaulted her, but thwap's just done a masterful job putting it all into context.

Authoritarian whacking material: the Stacy Bonds video

Via JJ and the Dawgster. As JJ puts it, imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever.



(c) Canwest Ottawa Citizen

I really can't add anything.

Oh no, wait – yes I can. Matt Humphreys, John Ayre and Chris Bentley: today's Little Eichmanns ^TM. Take a bow, guys. You're a credit to the legal profession.

What Stageleft said

So Vern White's reaching out to the community in response to the Stacy Bonds scandal, wanting everyone to know that the Ottawa police take this sort of thing very seriously.

Is the Ottawa Citizen undermining the authority of the court?

Note the wording of the lead sentence here:

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is probing what a judge has called the unlawful 2008 arrest and strip search of a 27-year-old woman by Ottawa police officers.

What is the Crown in Ottawa waiting for?

Hello? Paging the Ottawa Crown Attorney's office. That's 613-239-1200.

A court of law has ruled that the Ottawa cops' treatment of Stacy Bonds was a travesty, and cited their "appalling behaviours." That's not a rumour or a bit of hearsay or an incomplete or biased newspaper account. It's a finding of fact by a judge.

Re Stacy Bonds: And another thing

As Alison points out over at Creekside, the record doesn't exactly inspire confidence when it comes to internal probes or police investigating themselves. One of the comments recalls:

Out of 3,400 investigations of police misconduct in Ontario, only 95 resulted in criminal charges, only 16 officers were convicted, and only 3 actually spent any time in jail.

As with Robert Dziekanski, the officers lied even though they knew there was video evidence.

Meaningful police reform? Yeah, good luck with that

Incidents like this latest horrifying chapter in Ottawa just underline the sad truth that's been self-evident all along: there is no effective institutional way of holding bastards like this accountable. These sadistic, cowardly lying pieces of shit do this for the same reason that dogs lick their balls: Because They Can.