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And while he was doing that, Mantler stepped forward and brutally kicked Mr. Tavares in the face, injuring him. Even worse: Mr. Tavares was in the process of recovering from a brain injury sustained in an accident — a fact that Mantler and other responding officers had been made aware of.

There was no justification for the attack on Mr. Tavares. He had surrendered and was complying with all instructions. And still, this injured man was kicked in the face by a man who was pointing a gun at him.

For this, he was handed down an 18-month suspended sentence. In effect, he was let go. So long as he behaves, he won’t have any further trouble.

Put the two cases side by side. Man kicks a brain-injured man, who is helpless, in the face? No time behind bars. Woman spits at two men? Three months behind bars.

When a police officer commits a crime, they can count on the courts handling them with a much softer touch than if the police officer is the victim

Leave aside that in both cases, some of those people were police officers. Just look at the crimes and the punishment. Either the Saskatchewan woman was massively overpunished or, as I see it, the B.C. man got off absurdly easy.

Any reasonable person would have to agree. And that’s when it becomes impossible to deny the elephant in the room. When a police officer commits a crime, they can count on the courts handling them with a much softer touch than if the police officer is the victim.

Our police work hard. They take risks. They keep us safe. They deserve our gratitude and, in most cases, our respect. But they don’t deserve their own law. We’re all citizens here, and the police enforce the law on our behalf, not at our risk. How could the courts have forgotten this?

National Post

mgurney@nationalpost.com