this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2024
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'It's inflammatory': Vancouver police officer's patch ignites questions about objectivity (bc.ctvnews.ca)
submitted 7 months ago by grte@lemmy.ca to c/britishcolumbia@lemmy.ca
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[–] wise_pancake@lemmy.ca 33 points 7 months ago (2 children)

How hard is this: if you are a police office, do not wear any non-official patches or markings on your uniform.

You don’t work at fucking Chotchki’s, you don’t need 37 pieces of flare, and your job is to support the populace by reasonably enforce the existing laws, and not being the arbiter of right and wrong.

This and making political statements in uniform or using official police resources to make endorsements should result in a swift firing.

No thin blue line, no dumbass punisher emblem, only your police force and name badge (with white text, none of that “black text black background” shit).

[–] Kichae@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

your job is to support the populace by reasonably enforce the existing laws

If only that was their job.

Have you ever seen a job posting for your own position and gone "well, that's not even close to what I do" because it only lists the "good" stuff that basically never comes up? This is the police's equivalent of that.

[–] wise_pancake@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago

Can you explain more on what you mean?

[–] TSG_Asmodeus@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

“There have been issues raised about impartiality around the Vancouver police, especially in the recent election," he said. “I brought up concerns around the Vancouver Police Union endorsing political candidates. It’s part of a concerning trend.”

In 2022, the police union endorsed then-candidate Ken Sim, citing in part his ABC Vancouver party's pledge to hire 100 more police officers as part of its public safety platform.

This is why local elections matter, and we have to get more people voting in them.

[–] Formes@lemmy.ca 5 points 7 months ago

Step 1. Get a record of how few votes can swing a riding.

Step 2. Get people into the awarness that their vote can really make the difference, especially if they convince a few of their friends to vote at the same time.

Step 3. Campaign on "Want better politicians? Get out and vote for them - or at least vote against the worst ones".

Very important: Do not associate with any party while doing this. Just get out and encourage people to vote. Talk about early voting times, talk about optional mail in ballots for special cases, and above all else: JUST ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO VOTE. Maybe we can get a non-profit going that is literally "Helping Canadians Get out and Vote" who's entire job is to ensure Canadians are Informed, and able to get to the polling stations.

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Before I load the article, I’m gonna guess Punisher.

Edit: Israeli flag with a line through it. Fuck Israel.

Also:

In the photo, the bottom corner of the patch is not visible. Mariel Cooksey, the executive director of the Canadian Institute for Far-Right Studies, told CTV News she’s seen the patch before, often with the skull-shaped logo for The Punisher, a violent comic book vigilante, added in that corner.

Cooksey said the skull imagery is often utilized by Neo-Nazi groups in the U.S., and was previously seen on a police officer in Toronto in 2020.

“We saw it painted on the shields of protestors at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017,” she said.

“It’s a very frightening symbol to be worn by a police officer who is there to protect the general public.”

[–] m0darn@lemmy.ca 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's almost certainly this patch:

https://static.972mag.com/www/uploads/2021/10/WhatsApp-Image-2021-10-19-at-21.25.48-1000x668.jpeg

The article does a bad job describing it. It's not really an Israel flag with a line through it. It's a a patch that's half Israel's flag and half punisher logo with a thin border separating them.

That image is from this article which is about the symbols prevalence in the IDF (in spite THEIR uniform regulations) and the anti- Palestinian message it portrays.

I think the police viewing themselves as punishers (even in the most naive interpretation of the symbol) is really problematic. Police expressing a position on Israel is also not appropriate, I don't even like them wearing 'support our troops' badges and ribbons. But maybe it's better that they make their bad attitudes explicitly visible....

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I came back to update the thread after seeing the full patch. Thanks for pointing this out. Here's the patch.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 months ago

So doucebag cops at it again

[–] Donkdonkboom@lemmy.ca 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Would love it if my police force didn't pick a side in sectarian violence. Is that too much to ask?

[–] villasv@lemmy.ca 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Whenever the police pick a politician, the people just have to pick the opposition

[–] psvrh@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago

It's...ironic that of all the people who you would think would have looked at what the Nazis did as a counterexample, Jews and their supporters would be top of the list.

And yet, they're using Naziism has a how-to. Yeesh. Again, the irony is palpable.