Sewell will ask that the primary goals in any policy should be to de-escalate and defuse situations instead of exercising policies of control.Ex-Mayor McPeace then cites two recent incidents as an indictment of Toronto police... unfortunately leaving out a few pertinent details.
Sewell is asking that use of force protocols should be suspended when dealing with individuals in a mental crisis.
So let's fill in the blanks, shall we?
Meet Michael Eligon...
"After leaving the hospital, the 5-foot-11, 160-pound man is believed to have injured someone (the Globe & Mail has a witness saying Eligon stabbed a shopper and injured a police officer) inside a nearby convenience store before trying to hijack a car."And Sylvia Klibingaitis...
SIU director Ian Scott said Sylvia Klibingaitis made a 911 call saying she was armed with a knife and was going to commit a crime.Sorry, folks... you're out in public with a deadly weapon and moving towards an armed copper with speed & intent... all bets are off.
“She went directly toward the subject officer holding the knife in a threatening manner,” he stated. The officer pulled out his service pistol and pointed it at Klibingaitis while stepping backward toward the street.
Except, of course, if you're one of John Sewell's merry band of Yoko-channeling anarchists.