Article content continued

Surely, those standing shoulder to shoulder along the thin blue line don’t feel all that sorry for members of the public they arrest for manslaughter. So this braceletted show of solidarity, implicitly, suggests the police are casting doubt on the legitimacy of laying charges against Montsion, which impugns both the impartiality of police officers and the judicial process.

No amount of denial by officers or union officials can change that perception.

Chief Charles Bordeleau has stepped into the fray, backed up by Police Services Board chair Eli El-Chantiry, to forcefully remind officers that by wearing the pro-Montsion wristbands, they are jeopardizing the trust they’ve been struggling to maintain among Ottawans. The chief is right. Yet for whatever reason, some members of this police force seem hell-bent on damaging their own reputations.

The wounds are almost entirely self-inflicted. From the false traffic ticket scandal to the imperious attitudes displayed by some traffic officers regarding racial profiling allegations, these are poor decisions and attitudes consciously made and held by autonomous men and women throughout the ranks.

The monopoly that law enforcement officers hold on violence is a tremendous responsibility. It is also an exceptionally heavy burden to be the only people in society who, if they hurt or kill someone, can justify it as part of the job.

Ottawa cops, as of this week, cannot expect their presence won’t arouse suspicion. Were I pulled over – white, male, middle-class – I would wonder if the officer outside my car stands in solidarity with Montsion. I would also wonder, therefore, if he or she were comfortable with seeing, or carrying out, an arrest so violent it might lead to criminal charges. I suspect that worry is far, far more acute among other groups in Ottawa.