Do you think persons of color, specifically black are targeted by Toronto police? Depending on who you ask, you’re going to get a variety of answers.
Just don’t ask James Bishop though, because he cries every time he talks about it. Bishop, a Scarborough father was beaten by 4 Toronto police officers while playing basketball with his 11 year old son at the Scarborough YMCA.
The YMCA had called the police to remove Mr. Bishop from the facility when it was discovered he didn’t pay his member fees. Mr. Bishop was vocal with the police and they surrounded him and beat him with a baton and gave him some nice elbow sandwiches as a souvenir. He suffered a heart attack during the arrest. Several players on the court tried to take video of the officers mopping the floor with Bishop, but had their phones confiscated and deleted because a couple of officers thought they look fat in the footage. His son vowed never to play basketball with him again.
Mr. Bishop, a tall and fit looking Jamaican with long dreads is now suing the YMCA and the Toronto Police for over 2 million dollars for police brutality. Was Mr. Bishop arrested in this manner simply because he was black? Did he present a threat to safety thus requiring 4 police officers to be dispatched because he was black? Many persons in the black and visible minority community believe this to be so. On the other hand there are many that say Mr. Bishop should have just left once the YMCA asked him to and that he deserved to be arrested. Some felt that the way they arrested Mr. Bishop was too brutal. In other news, the YMCA has reported a huge increase in member fees being paid on time.
View the security cam of the incident below:
Do you think persons of color, specifically black are targeted by Toronto police? Depending on who you ask, you’re going to get a variety of answers.
Just don’t ask James Bishop though, because he cries every time he talks about it. Bishop, a Scarborough father was beaten by 4 Toronto police officers while playing basketball with his 11 year old son at the Scarborough YMCA. The YMCA had called the police to remove Mr. Bishop from the facility when it was discovered he didn’t pay his member fees. Mr. Bishop was vocal with the police and they surrounded him and beat him with a baton and gave him some nice elbow sandwiches as a souvenir. He suffered a heart attack during the arrest. Several players on the court tried to take video of the officers mopping the floor with Bishop, but had their phones confiscated and deleted because a couple of officers thought they look fat in the footage. His son vowed never to play basketball with him again.
Mr. Bishop, a tall and fit looking Jamaican with long dreads is now suing the YMCA and the Toronto Police for over 2 million dollars for police brutality. Was Mr. Bishop arrested in this manner simply because he was black? Did he present a threat to safety thus requiring 4 police officers to be dispatched because he was black? Many persons in the black and visible minority community believe this to be so. On the other hand there are many that say Mr. Bishop should have just left once the YMCA asked him to and that he deserved to be arrested. Some felt that the way they arrested Mr. Bishop was too brutal. In other news, the YMCA has reported a huge increase in member fees being paid on time.
View the security cam of the incident below:
Here’s another gentleman who isn’t a fan of the Toronto police force, Mr. Ronald Phipps. You see, Mr. Phipps is a mailman for Canada Post and a fine one at that too.
One day, Mr. Phipps was busily delivering mail in the Bridlepath area of Toronto – a rich and affluent neighborhood which houses Canada’s millionaires, billionaires, and CEOs. Toronto police officer Shaw meanwhile, was on the lookout for several white men that were cutting telephone cables in the neighborhood. He happened to see Mr. Phipps, who is black, crisscrossing through the houses. Officer Shaw became suspicious and questioned Mr. Phipps as to what he was doing there? Mr. Phipps told him he was — uhhh — delivering the mail. Officer Shaw did not believe him despite the fact he was wearing a Canada Post uniform. He was perhaps an imposter mailman, you know like in the movies, where George Clooney and Brad Pitt robbed that casino with their brilliant disguises? Officer Shaw surely must have admired the detail that Mr. Phipps put into his disguise, as he was carrying 2 heavy bags of mail. Incredibly the mail were all addressed to the actual houses on the street! His uniform was crisp and clean, neatly folded at the creases with the Canada Post logo lovingly duplicated and boldly worn across his chest. He ran some name checks on Phipps and damn it there really is a Phipps! He still wasn’t convinced so he instead questioned a white homeowner and another white mailman if Mr. Phipps was indeed a real mailman. Only after having been verified by two white persons, was then Mr. Shaw convinced that the black guy in the Canada Post uniform just might be the real thing. By the way I think Obama is not human, I swear he is a lizard man in disguise. Officer Shaw gave him a series of Benny Hill style slaps to the back of his bald head and let him be on his way.
Mr. Phipps was not amused though. He made a complaint and an inquiry was held. It made a huge noise requiring Toronto Police Chief, Bill Blair to show up and back up Officer Shaw. The board determined Shaw racially profiled Mr. Phipps and gave Officer Shaw a loud scolding and took away his XBOX for a week. Mr. Phipps got $10,000 out of the deal though so it wasn’t all that bad.
This case happened to an acquaintance of mine. His name is Pele (not his real name). Pele is a black man from Jamaica. Pele made the mistake of dating a drug addicted stripper. Being the nice guy he is, thought he could change her ways with his loving ways, but one night she ended up beating him up. She wanted Pele to drive her to the local drug dealer for her next hit. He refused and she proceeded to knock his teeth out. He had enough and began to leave saying their relationship was over. As Shakespeare would say, “Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned”. She called the police on him and told them that he had assaulted and abused her. Since I knew both of them, I knew that this was not true. However the police will usually believe a woman, so Pele was charged for 2 X assault, threatening with a weapon, and owning an illegal handgun. These are very serious charges. It should be noted that Pele did not have a gun and a gun was never found. Pele was arrested and was placed on bail. His condition was to stay away from the woman, which he vigorously obliged. One day Pele was pulled over by a Toronto police officer. Upon doing background checks on Pele and discovering his charges, the officer called for backup. I witnessed this event and it was most memorable as at least 15 police cruisers and 30 officers showed up to arrest Pele! It looked like the entire precinct had come down to take a look at this very dangerous man. In fact the sergeant even showed up! Throughout the whole incident Pele never raised his voice or acted menacing in a way, yet 30 officers arrived at the scene. You can be sure that if Pele so much as yelled a curse word, he would have been happily beaten. The charge was bogus, however to avoid further legal headaches, Pele pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Now every time Pele gets pulled over by the police you can be sure at least 10 more will show up. Here is a black man who had a charged placed on him with no merit and every time an officer pulls up his record, they think he is a dangerous criminal to the point where they will called multiple backups just in case.
