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(Prime Time Crime exclusive Nov. 20, 2008)
The Pot calling the Kettle
By Bob Cooper
According to Province columnist Jon Ferry, police officers convicted of impaired driving should be fired like they do back in the old sod. What Mr. Ferry fails to mention is that the Brits pay their cops so poorly most of them can barely afford a drink much less a car which is why all the ones with common sense come over here.
I wonder if Mr. Ferry would apply those same standards to his own profession? I daresay there’d be a lot of empty desks in newsrooms all over Vancouver. I wish I had a nickel for every drunken reporter I gave a break to over the years, not to mention a few defense lawyers and the odd judge. I’ve also been to my share of media social functions and believe me, that’s World-Class drinking. Not that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy them mind you, but suffice to say that the press in this city have absolutely no business lecturing anyone on the evils of drinking and driving.
(The other thing I liked about the media functions is that they are totally unencumbered by the political correctness they impose upon the rest of us that has most police bosses scared to death and makes our functions desperately sterile by comparison.)
Mr. Ferry suggests these incidents ‘taint the public trust’ and rhetorically asks if this is a case of ‘cops gone wild’. Subliminal Jerry Springer image intended I’m sure. On the subject of public trust, despite the best efforts of Ferry and his ilk, every poll I’ve ever seen consistently puts police officers very near the top with journalists tending to occupy a rather different position. A case of ‘cops gone wild’? No, it’s simply that when hiring police officers you have to recruit from the human race and even the best people occasionally make mistakes.
I’m not attempting to minimize or justify these incidents in any way. I’m simply saying that the job is an emotional meat grinder and cops deal with the horror of it in different ways. Most have healthy outlets and good family relationships that carry them through their 30 years but a few others don’t and wind up in situations like this.
As an employer, the Vancouver Police Department is one of the most progressive and proactive anywhere when it comes to getting help for any members who develop a drinking problem. Quite often it’s the some of the best officers that this happens to. The guys that always seem to go above and beyond. I’ve seen many cases where the Department’s timely intervention has resulted in these people getting the help they’ve needed and becoming good cops again. As a Deputy Chief once said to a gathering of Officers that I was attending, “This job sometimes breaks our people and when that happens we don’t throw them away, we fix them”. And he was a teetotaler, as well as a kind and decent man.
Anyway, enough on that. Think I’ll leave Mr. Ferry to wallow in his own hypocrisy and go have a snort.