Dear editor,
On Thursday’s television news we witnessed a full-grown male, RCMP officer, on top of a child, pressing him to the ground.
We saw a woman beside them, talking to the officer, wanting him to get off the child. Both have since been charged with “obstruction of justice.”
This, in my opinion, raises a number of issues, not the least of which is: is this an approved method of how the RCMP treats a child for not wearing a helmet and unwilling to give his name?
Are there not better methods?
Why was this child singled out? Having lived in the Comox Valley for 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of adults and children not wear their helmets and have never heard of this sort of action by an RCMP officer. Friendly reminders to wear helmets, yes.
Would a 14-year-old girl have been subjected to the same treatment or is this conduct reserved for only boys in Cumberland?
What is the message children will take away from this incident? Everyone who watched the news in B.C. Thursday evening saw this.
Now our scarce police and judicial services will be taken up by possibly two trials.
The weak response by the local RCMP detachment doesn’t really cut it. We don’t need this to happen again.
E. A. Foster
Nanaimo