Boreal

The Arrest of Stacy Bonds and

The Consequence of There Being no Consequences

The lack of consequences for police officers behaving badly is probably the main reason for the type of in-your-face unapologetic police brutality such as that witnessed during the arrest of Stacy Bonds of Ottawa.

Stacy Bonds, a twenty-something black woman, was walking home one night when she was stopped by Ottawa's finest. After providing identification, she asked why she had been stopped. For nothing it turned out, but that did not deter Ottawa’s finest from arresting her for simply asking "Why?"

While in police custody one male officer would put his hand down her pants, strip her of her blouse and cut off her bra. In a police video she is also kneed twice by a large police woman who steps back to put her considerable weight behind the first kick, which is followed by another, which is followed by her grabbing the hair of the petite Ms. Bonds and smashing her head into the counter, after which the robust policewoman doing all the kicking and the smashing suddenly develops a limp and leaves the scene.

She returns moments later, more or less limp-free, as four burly male police officers now surround Ms. Bonds who is in handcuffs, face down on the floor. The young woman's blouse and bra are cut off with a pair of scissors and an officer sticks his hand down her pants.

The butch (female with masculine traits) who did the kicking and the smashing still hovers menacingly in the vicinity as if looking for an opportunity to get a few more kicks in before the immobilized young woman is carted away.

Ms. Bond was left in a police cell for three hours, topless with soil pants while the police drew up charges of resisting arrest and assaulting police officers.

The crown prosecutor, even after seeing the video, proceeded with the charges (this has to be the most worrisome).

Two years later, we are talking Canadian justice here, a judge asked to see the video and threw out the charges against Ms. Bond, calling what was done to her a travesty. Just another travesty, we might add, the consequence of there being no real inhibiting consequences i.e. deterrent for police officers who do this sort of thing.

The police sergeant in charge, who participated in the assault on Ms. Bonds, had days earlier kicked and twice gratuitously tasered a homeless woman in a police cell who had been arrested for panhandling.

For this excessive use of force on a defenseless woman the police sergeant was demoted to corporal for three whole months before resuming his duties as sergeant; duties which included the supervision of the processing of people taken into police custody, including Stacy Bonds.

"The female officer who kneed Stacy Bonds following her arrest was also videotaped kicking a homeless aboriginal man 'like a dog' after other officers dragged him by the legs into a cell last year" Ottawa Citizen

Again, no deterring consequences.

And the Brotherhood Cheered

Sergeant cleared of sexual assault, but leaving woman topless 'unnecessary and demeaning'

... Ottawa police Supt. Mike Flanagan, who oversees the cellblock, said the applauding officers were supporting a fellow member through what had been a long legal process. " ... there is a brother and sisterhood that exists," said Flanagan.

Ottawa Citizen April 5, 2013

There will be no consequences for the officers who showed so little respect for courtroom decorum and Stacy Bonds sitting there by applauding a colleague accused of assaulting her when she found not criminally responsible. It is not clear whether the Ottawa Police Association gave the green light to their members' disgraceful behaviour but they certainly encouraged it early on by throwing a "policemen's" party to show their support for some of the participants in the assault on Ms. Bonds - the woman who did all the kicking and face smashing being the focus of much of their solicitude.

Matt Skof, president of Ottawa Police Association is already on record as objecting to the police chief proceeding with a charge of discreditable conduct against Desjourdy the officer who stuck his hand down Ms. Bonds' pants while she was being held down; a charge which had been stayed during the criminal trial, but was reinstated by Chief Bordeleau.

Matt Skof, president of the union representing police officers, said Friday that although counsel had asked that he not discuss the case in detail, he thinks Desjourdy has been through enough.

“My opinion of it is obviously I’m very protective of our officers,” Skof said. “In cases like this, I wouldn’t even be entertaining these charges because I think he’s been through quite enough.

“This has been an incredibly long and difficult ordeal for Sgt. Desjourdy and we want to make sure we get him through this, too.”

Ottawa Citizen, April 6, 2013

Bernard Payeur

A good cop bad cop story