I was returning down a still somewhat busy Queen Street West after a late play at the Theatre Centre when I noticed a couple of street people sitting in out on a storefront. One of them was yelling at and punching his whimpering dog.
I didn't do anything about it, but I did notice two police officers standing just around the corner in front of a bar. I approached them and mentioned what I saw, but they advised me that they were working there. In hindsight I should have remembered that a lot of Toronto Peace Officers work as private security after hours, apparently while still in uniform. They advised me that I could instead call the police non-emergency line, (I didn't actually have a phone) and wait there for an investigating officer to arrive. I wasn't planning on hanging around so they suggested that I didn't care as much as I thought I did.
I didn't say anything to that really, so I won't add anything to my conclusion though, (of course) I've been thinking about it after.
Hi Dude,
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't feel too guilty about that. Its not you're job to confront violent people about breaking the law.
I think its kind of screwed up that off-duty cops feel that their side job is too important to interrupt by calling in to the switch board to report a crime.
Its also doubly wrong for them to be trying to put the onus on citizens to wait in the night, for possibly hours, near potentially violent people, so that they don't have to leave their private security post.
You might even think of writing the globe and mail.
S'kinda what I thought too. Queen/Batthurst isn't known as a safe corner, and non-emergency call apparently do take about an hour. I do not like police officers taking advantage of their uniforms for their side jobs, but really I think I just could without the hypocritical guilt tripping.
ReplyDeleteWalking by this afternoon I noticed the same streeters and their dogs, (The particular one not visibly injured I guess) all still at the same corner. So life goes on.