More From The Usual Suspects

Police put on a `good spectacle'
Snipers, leg irons, selected evidence, police brass — all calculated to sway the public, lawyers and security experts say
Jun. 5, 2006. 08:16 AM
LINDA DIEBEL
STAFF REPORTER

SNIP

For the experts contacted by the Star, these events were as much about creating an image for the public as about charging the individuals. And it's an image, they argue, that could hurt the right of the accused — 12 men and five youths — to a fair trial.

Being on message — "on script" as the spin doctors put it — is a concept more easily associated with politicians than police chiefs. But for a veteran of the criminal justice system like Toronto lawyer Walter Fox, it's the obvious lens through which to judge events.

The principal audience, in his view, is the Canadian public.

"Police think they have to present a show of force to advance the public's understanding that these guys are dangerous," said Fox. "Does it prejudice the mind of the public? I think so.

"As a criminal lawyer, I am well aware that police and the prosecution are never stronger than at the moment when they've brought their suspects into court for the first time. I've also learned that the stronger the police seem to be at this point, the more suspicious I become that they don't have a complete case."

Overall, Fox tends to believe that the checks and balances of the justice system will probably win out. David Jacobs, a Toronto lawyer with extensive experience in international human rights law, is less sure.

"The fanfare around the arrests creates such a theatrical atmosphere one wonders if it is necessary for the enforcement of justice.... It raises the emotional level without necessarily shedding any light," he said.

In Brampton Saturday, lawyer Anser Farooq, who represents five of the accused, clearly saw the image of snipers on the roof and police armed to the teeth as negative to his clients. "This is ridiculous," he told the Star. "They've got soldiers here with guns. This is going to completely change the atmosphere."

Inside, lawyer Rocco Galati, representing two suspects, complained to Farnum about the leg irons and armed officers in the courtroom, adding: "I do not feel safe with an automatic weapon facing in my direction."

More @ http://tinyurl.com/rgsgn thestar.com (Canada)

So having legs irons, soldiers with guns, and automatic weapons pointed at the perps has upset the lawyers and other of the terrorist apologists. And of course the US is to blame by inference as is always the case.

You remember when the usual suspects whined that we didn't shoot down the aircraft on 09/11/01 before they were crashed into buildings? Now the same sort of people are complain that the police and military response in Canada is all about show and pomp. Of course if the police and military did not take adequate precautions and there was some sort of incident the same people who are complaining now would complain about that. You see the Moon-Bat terrorists bank on having Liberals do their 'P/R' work for them and it works like a charm every time.

You will notice all the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth over the Moon-Bats rights and fair trials and other off the wall comments. The Moon-Bats were caught red-handed, but all the worry is centered on the so called rights of the Moon-Bats.

Now I don't support a lot of what police and military have done in the past in Canada & the US because what they were doing was non-responsive to the problem at hand. However this time it appears that they've got it right and you can't be too careful when it comes to these Moon-Bat terrorists.