I had to post this. From today’s Toronto Star:
Racism not factor in killing
by Peter Edwards
The inquiry into the shooting death of Anthony (Dudley) George shouldn’t be allowed access to records on OPP discipline of officers who made racist remarks, and lied on the witness stand, a lawyer for the province contends.
Kim Twohig also argued yesterday there’s no evidence that racism played a role in the killing of the native activist.
Twohig made the comments as she supported a move by the OPP and its officers’ union to block the inquiry from seeing force disciplinary records regarding the police operation at Ipperwash Provincial Park a decade ago.
Her comments were criticized by native elder Clifford George. . Those involved in the probe “might as well give up if they’re not going to give us the whole record,” he said. He and others contend it’s wrong to block release of disciplinary records of officers who made racist comments on tape and other force members who made souvenirs commemorating the standoff.
Twohig told the inquiry that questions of racism were not a factor in the trial of Acting-Sergeant Kenneth Deane, who was found guilty in 1997 of criminal negligence causing death.
But, George family lawyer Murray Klippenstein said questions about racism have lingered since his shooting Sept. 6, 1995, when OPP officers marched on the park, occupied by natives.
The lawyer noted OPP officers were captured on tape the day before the shooting, when one called a native Canadian a “great big fat f— Indian.” “We were thinking if we could get five or six cases of Labatt 50 we could bait them,” one officer says. A colleague replies, “It works in the south with watermelon.”
Why isn’t anyone else covering this story?
They’re too busy covering the John Roberts story and, you know, likening him to Jesus:
“It’s a little bit like biblical Pharisees, you know, who basically are always trying to undermine Jesus Christ,” Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said on Fox News. “You know, it goes on the same way. If they can catch him in something, they can then criticize and the outside groups will go berserk.”
-WP