Police Vent/Rant

I'm sorry, I'm so frustrated right now. Last night my boyfriend went out with some friends, they were all drinking and when they were done (well before bars closed) he began walking home. Of course, just his luck, they picked him up while he was walking back to my place to put him in the drunk tank. I really don't get it, they don't want people to drive home drunk but if you walk home they'll pick you up, fine you and make you stay at the station. This fine was only $65 (he is going to fight it) but he's had two other instance in the past two years where the ticket was over $100. Before anyone asks why he didn't take a cab, we both live within a 5-10 minute walk of the downtown core where the bars are AND he was picked up meters from his place. 

My second vent/rant about it. He was assaulted pretty badly while they were arresting him. He has marks on his wrists from the handcuffs, a pretty good bruise on his wrist, scrapes and bruises on his shoulders, knees and legs (he was wearing jeans and a sweater) and will likely have bruises on his chest and abdomen where they punched him. We aren't sure if he has a broken rib or not, but he thinks he might. I'm trying to get him to go into urgent care today to have it looked at. The assault on his chest and abdomen happened when he was already in the police car. 

He was compliant up until they put him in the car and started roughing him up, then he got a bit mouthy (he said something along the lines of, "Way to stop the riot"). I hate to say it but I'm a bit proud of him for that. He did get more roughed up after that. 

My third vent/rant. They called me at 1:46 am for pretty much no reason. They called and asked if I knew a [boyfriends full name] and asked what the last text I had sent him was. I had been sleeping so I was a bit out of it and said I wasn't sure, that I was on my phone and if he wanted to call back a few minutes later I could check. He asked me if I had sent him a text about an xbox, which I had, and I gave a few more details after that. They never told me why they were calling and I was half asleep so didn't really think about it, I just assumed that he had lost his phone and the police had picked it up. Now, this all goes back to the second time that he was picked up for the same thing, I had called them to ask if he was there because he hadn't come home. They told me that they couldn't tell me whether he was there or not, I flipped on the phone with them and asked if I could file a missing persons report because I didn't know where he was and I hadn't seen him in over 24 hours (which was true, although I knew he had been home in that time, we just missed each other because of work schedules). At that time, they said no. I don't know why they were going through his phone, I don't know why they chose to call me and I don't know who else they called. 

He's asleep right now, he has to sleep on his left side because it's too painful for him to sleep on his back or his right side like he normally does. When he gets up we're going to take some pictures of the marks and bruises he has. I don't know what else to do though. All of this happened in private areas. Yes, there are cameras in the police cars but since there are no witnesses that aren't police, it won't do us any good. Regardless, I've asked my boyfriend to talk to his friend that's a lawyer to see if there is anything that can be done. 

I'm so angry and frustrated right now!

That is outrageous police brutality! I just can't put into words how wrong that is! If that were my husband I would do everything I could to demand justice.

OH your poor BF. That is SOOOOOO wrong!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sorry, GEESH, now they get you for suspicion for drunk walking.... So sorry about that and I hope you can hire a good attorney. :cross:

Oh your poor bf that is disgraceful behavior by the police I hope he is going to get to the hospital and file a complaint

I'm not sure what the laws are in Canada, but in the US they can certainly arrest you for public intoxication.

But, they also shouldn't have beaten him up. Make SURE you take pictures before the marks fade to document the evidence.

This is not on at all, I like to watch police programmes US ones and UK ones and to be honest I have been shocked on how the police treat some people, like if the person will not go away the police push them really hard and keep doing it, this is obviously going to provoke the other person, I think sometimes they do it to get more on them to charge them with, they must be on comission or something.

  I would definitely take this further, take photos and see a lawyer, they shouldn't be able to get away with it. Hope you bf feels better soon.x

Canadian law does indeed have a provisal for walking while intoxicated and one can get nailed for drunk driving on a bicycle or even a horse; this is in addition to public intoxication.

nerdrock - I am certain you will soon find he is guilty until proven innocent, and ptoving his innocence is going to be pretty rough going as it will be stated that he resisted, etc.....do find a good lawyer.

I have known someone here in Ohio who was ticketed for walking home from a bar while drunk. He started doing that after getting a DUI. It was much cheaper than the DUI. That certainly is no excuse for physical violence on the part of the police. I think they are prone to do that with someone who is intoxicated because it is easier for them to get away with it.

He was ticketed for "Being Intoxicated In A Public Place" (Liquor Licence Act of Ontario Sec. 31(4)). I completely understand that it's a law but also find it ridiculous because he was literally walking up the street. I made a mistake earlier, I said he was walking to my place (which is only a ten minute walk) but he was going to his place because it was closer. I'll include a map to show you approximately where he was, where he was picked up and where he was going. 

Point B is where he was, Point A is very close to where he lives (I didn't put the exact location for privacy sake). He was picked up on the corner right in between.



I'm really not sure what they expected him to do, other than walk? Pay $5 to take a cab less than a block? It would take him less time to walk there than it would to get a cab, take it home and pay them. They knew where he was coming from, they knew where he was going... Not to mention, in all of their anti-drunk driving campaigns they have a slogan similar to, "walk, take a cab, take the bus or call a friend". Why do they suggest walking when they're going to ticket you for doing so? 

He really does not want to pursue it other than fighting the fine, which he will most likely win. He has a position as on the board of directors for a community event and works in the community on a few things, he would lose his position that he's worked for nearly 5 years to get if he were charged with resisting arrest or something more serious. He's afraid that if he pursues it they'll decide to do something like that. I'm still trying to convince him to let me take pictures of the bruises so he at least has it documented. He's still refusing to go to the hospital, but I have Monday off so I might be able to get him to go then as long as I go with him. 

I feel so bad for him, he's so sore and in pain right now. He has a hard time sleeping so he's just been doing a lot of resting and laying around (which is annoying me, lol, but it's alright). He also has a job interview on Monday for a management position at a restaurant, it's the first interview he's been able to get in almost a year. We're both really hoping that his injuries aren't going to impact his interview in any way. If he wears a long sleeve shirt then at least they won't be able to see the bruises, except for the one on his hand. 

He has promised to talk to his friend that's a lawyer, so I hope he does do that. I also got a bit of advice from a friend at work who's dad worked for the RCMP for a long time, I guess one of her exes had something similar happen to him so she's been through it before. 

If I am able to get some pictures of the bruises I'll post them on here. Some of them are purple and black now, others are green and yellow. He is starting to get some bruising on his chest now too. I've told him that if he goes to the hospital he might be able to get something for the pain so he can at least move around and not lay around all the time, which isn't good for his moral right now. He's feeling very down. I feel so bad for him but I don't know what to do to help him. He is happy if we get out and take the dogs for a walk or something like that, he doesn't have much pain when he's up and moving for awhile but as soon as he stops it all comes back. 

I thought the Canadian police were gentlemen compared to ours.  Maybe I've been told wrong?

Arguing with the police or resisting arrest is always a bad mistake.  And since he has a record, he should be a lot more careful. Don't take my word for it; ask Ron "Tater Salad" White.

His (intoxicated) logic at the time told him, "Hey! I'm already being assaulted, I should at least make it worth while". Not smart, he knows that too, he just couldn't help it at the time. It's one thing to get picked up, he would have just fought the ticket after, but when they started assaulting him for no reason, that's when he got mouthy. 

Our police in Canada are actually pretty nice, I think it's just a problem here in London. One of the lady's that I work with has a brother in law that works for the police in a near by city, apparently no one wants to work in London because we have a lot of underground crime and a lot of fugitives in hiding, compared to other cities. The only nice police officer that I've been in contact with while I've been living here was one that pulled me over. I was driving my mom's car because mine broke down and didn't realize that I didn't have my lights on at night, lol. Her running lights are pretty bright and my regular lights must have been pretty dim, I didn't realize it at all. He was very nice. 

My roommate stole a bunch of stuff from me one time and the police officer that came to investigate was pretty rude, he made it seem like I was wasting his time. Same thing when my car window was broken and some stuff was stolen from that, they asked if I was just calling so I could claim the window on my insurance (in which case they wouldn't have had to come out) but acted like it was a huge hassle to have someone come when I told her there was stuff stolen from the car (car chargers, a 35mm camera that I had forgotten in there, a few cds, $20 that I kept in the glove compartment for emergency gas and a few dog crates that I used for transports). 

My boyfriend did get into trouble when he was younger, he's almost 20 now and when he first moved here he was a reckless teenager. He was charged with mischief under $5000 and there is something about domestic violence on his record too, although he was never charged. What had happened was him and his girlfriend at the time broke up, he left and came back a few hours later to get his stuff. She wouldn't open the door, he was knocking on the glass and it broke. She freaked and called the police. They're actually pretty good friends now, I've hung out with her a few times and talked to her about it so I do know that's what happened. The same thing actually happened to one of my friends when him and his girlfriend broke up. However, since then and especially in the last 6 years, he's really worked at changing his life around. I'm just afraid that if this kind of thing keeps happening to him, he's going to get discouraged and depressed and just throw everything he's worked for away. He doesn't have a lot of support here, most of his friends are milking the welfare system and are less than supportive, although his close friends and I are very supportive of him. He doesn't go out to drink a lot, most of the time when he does I'm with him. We go out maybe twice a month if that and he might go out once more without me - keep in mind that a lot of our friends are in bands and that's usually our going out. It's so frustrating. 

nerdrock said:

His (intoxicated) logic at the time told him, "Hey! I'm already being assaulted, I should at least make it worth while". Not smart, he knows that too, he just couldn't help it at the time. It's one thing to get picked up, he would have just fought the ticket after, but when they started assaulting him for no reason, that's when he got mouthy.

Click to expand...

To quote Ron White in that video:  "I had the right to remain silent.  I had the right...but I didn't have the ability."

I doubt the police gratuitously assaulted him.  That's not the business they're in.  I have no doubt that they handled him in a firm manner, which is designed to purposely protect themselves in most cases.  Start fighting, and the police are going to hurt you.  Remember, they deal with this situation repeatedly every day, and they need to be able to go home to their families, eat, sleep, play, and be able to come back to work tomorrow and do it all over again. 

No matter what story he tells, I think your boyfriend has a serious problem

How drunk was he?    What was his BAC?