Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 10, 2009, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page a6 a 6 Winnipeg free press saturday january 10, 2009 saturday special Winnipeg repress. Com Good of vigilantes. You know nothing else will happen to the t heir sic other w Isey congrats the Guys who kicked h is ass a i am not condoning this but i can understand it a Cong i would kicked his ass of al l the crime committed by one racial group the Law would have done nothing to him. I n the picture the Young Man has his hands covered in blood Over his head to protect himself. Another shot shows blood pouring from wounds on his face and hands. A pair of blues earned legs indicate someone is standing Over him. The picture and comment about an alleged car thief apparently beaten by a group leaving a party Early new years Day had Winni Eggers thinking and talking this week about Street Justice versus the official Justice system. People of All stripes seemed to embrace people taking criminal matters into their own hands when they could be Anonymous about it. Good of sic vigilantes. You know nothing else will happen to the their sic otherwise one comment on a website reacting to a report about the incident said. Another i think this is sending a Strong message. People Are getting sick and tired of crime. They Are getting sick and tired of nothing happening to these thieves. Sick and tired of our revolving door Justice system and yet another cheers to the individual who took matters into his own hands As the Law would have done nothing to him. A thief is a thief and he probably got what he deserved. In the Days that followed versions of How the Man came to be lying in the Snow including questions about Why police did not immediately investigate an apparent assault began to surface. Police quickly reopened their investigation into the incident after the Media reported the original posting. Officers say they re not talking about their Progress because its an open file. But sources close to the investigation said the Man in the posted pictures does not want to proceed with a criminal complaint. Witnesses and alleged participants say a Mother and child locked in the vehicle the suspect was near were threatened. Some say the suspect May have been drunk and armed with a screwdriver. Over the last year Winnipeg has been the site of several vigilante style incidents in which people have chosen to confine or confront attackers. Police strongly caution against doing that. Police officers often say they do their jobs so the Public does not have to. Under Section 494 of the criminal code citizens have the Power to make arrests if they witness someone committing an indictable offence or damaging property. But they must turn that person Over to police right away and not use excessive Force in detaining someone. But still police Are extremely cautious about sending the wrong message to the Public about citizens arrests for safety reasons a criminal May be armed. We dont say to the Public this is what you should do. We dont want to put people in jeopardy. You could have somebody carrying a knife. Its better for the police to be called said Winnipeg police chief Keith Mccaskill. Taking punishment into their own hands thatus wrong absolutely wrong and they be doing that. Its Clear though that even the Mere threat of vigilantism looms Large in the Public cos mind. After the shooting death of 19 year old Lahai Konteh outside a st. Matthews Avenue social event dec. 21, members of the Cit yes liberian Community of which Konteh was a member were petrified his death would Lead to further bloodshed bloodshed prompted by other members of the Community seeking retribution for the Young mans death. His slaying remains unsolved. Mike Sutherland of the Winnipeg police association the Union representing rank and file officers said they Are aware of the frustration the Public feels about what is perceived As the Justice systems failings. A break and enter Guy for the most part is not in a situation where hers Likely to get caught for 10 or 20 breaking. When hers caught its Only the break ins you can prove. Its difficult to gauge whether there Are More occurrences of vigilantism he said because if people choose to confront a suspect themselves they generally dont Call to report it. Complicating the whole matter is the allegation the new years Day beating was motivated by racism. The Man in the pictures is aboriginal and the original comments contained racial slurs. The Horace Street Homeowner who made the initial Call to police said Friday he did not see any violence or racial slurs directed toward the Man when he rushed out of his Home to see what the commotion was about. He said the alleged attackers simply held the Man on the ground and waited eight minutes for police to arrive. This was not a racism thing said the Man who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said he gave a statement to police at his Home thursday evening. Officers brought with them a private investigator looking into the matter for local aboriginal groups he said. The presence of an Independent set of eyes examining the incident is proof aboriginal groups View the matter differently. That View that the incident was racially motivated is based largely on the internet postings that came just hours after the incident. The moment that that individual decided to Post those pictures that title and Short blog that accompanied it to me thatus inciting hate against our people said Natanni Fontaine director of Justice for the Southern chiefs organization. Fontaine met with Mccaskill on Friday to talk about the incident. The Southern chiefs organization is contemplating filing a complaint to the Canadian human rights commission if the Man in the pictures will support it. James. Turner free press. My. Ca comments posted on website is it racism or frustration Over the Justice system vigilante Justice rears its ugly head new years Day incident incites cheers. And fears James Turner a 06_ Jan 10 09. Ind a6 1/ 9/ 09 8 14 34 pm ;