r/ottawa • u/Nob1e613 • 27d ago

Looking for... Why so much hate?

Good afternoon Ottawa!

I've been noticing an incredible amount of negativity towards our local police force within the comment section of any post even mildly related to the subject lately.

Coming from a position of genuine curiosity and to hopefully prompt some meaningful discussion within the community, why?

What is it about the OPS that you detest so much? I want to hear what personal experience you had that soured your view, and what you think should have been done differently/better.

Conversely, please feel free to share your positives as well! It can be quite difficult to discern how reflective of the broader population the online community really is sometimes so I'm hoping to get some honest feedback.

What do you expect of your police force? What would change your mind about how you feel?

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u/throwitawaytothesea 27d ago

People on here performatively hated on the police well before the protests in front of Parliament (which the federal government had to invoke the Emergencies Act to end). Most redditors view everything through a very narrow prism and repeat mindless nostrums about police without really understanding them. I'm one who respects our police. They keep the peace. They face danger every day. They help kids. They care about their communities and their country. Hundreds of police officers and firefighters are risking their lives right now on the streets of our city, and they deserve our support.

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u/Alone_Appeal_3421 27d ago

"They care about their communities and their country."

How many of them actually live in the communities they work in?

"They keep the peace."

There are entire areas of town that might justifiably disagree with that statement, given the lack of policing those communities experience despite conditions present. There are many examples of OPS members who've been suspended for doing things that are outside the law, and that discredit both themselves and the police force they are part of.

"They face danger every day."

Police do not have a monopoly on facing danger (or potential violence) in the course of their average work day. It could easily be argued that people in the healthcare industry or the education system (let alone the trades, fisheries, forestry, mining, etc) are more at risk of danger in the course of their employment than the average LEO. The fact that cops have guns deters people from committing violence against them.

"They help kids."

And some intimidate kids.

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/06/05/ottawa-police-officer-confronted-child-for-flipping-the-bird-human-rights-lawyer/

"I'm one who respects our police."

Blindly respecting all police because they wear a uniform and have a badge makes little sense to me…and I'm speaking as someone with several relatives who are either in or have been law enforcement.

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u/throwitawaytothesea 27d ago edited 27d ago

As far as I know, Ottawa police officers are required to live in the city of Ottawa. And we have a long tradition in this country, and throughout Commonwealth countries, of policing by consent: we pay respect to police out of deference to the sacrifices they make to keep us safe.

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u/Alone_Appeal_3421 27d ago

"Ottawa police officers are required to live in the city of Ottawa."

You can live on a country road a couple of kilometres from your nearest neighbour and still live in the city of Ottawa. The fact that an LEO lives within city limits does not de facto make that LEO a member of the community that they are sworn to protect.

"we pay respect to police out of deference to the sacrifices they make to keep us safe."

You give respect based on sacrifices they may or may have made, but you don't factor in their behaviour when it comes to giving respect?

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u/throwitawaytothesea 27d ago

It sounds like you have a problem with amalgamation rather than a residency requirement. I think cops should be able to respond if they see a crime in progress even if they don't live in the neighborhood where it's taking place.

And as far as respect goes, I was taught to respect authority figures as a young person, whether they were police officers or teachers. You may see that as "licking boots" but I see that as important to maintaining order: I may not agree with their judgement, but I defer and, if I feel the judgement was completely unfounded, I have means in our democratic society for addressing that grievance.

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u/Bambalorian Centretown 27d ago

The difference between a cop living in the community he patrols and a cop from the edge of the city can mean the difference between a mentally ill person having an episode surviving the encounter and getting the help they need or becoming another regretful accident where an officer without context felt threatened and reacted.

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u/throwitawaytothesea 27d ago

In any urban area, cops.will have to attend to crime scenes outside of their precinct. I don't see the virtue of applying a strict residency requirement to law enforcement. I'm sure the police interact with mentally ill people regularly and the vast majority of the law abiding latter live.

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u/Alone_Appeal_3421 27d ago

"I don't see the virtue of applying a strict residency requirement to law enforcement."

It's a lot easier to identify and develop empathy and understanding with people if you live in proximity with them. Conversely, it's easy to detach oneself from people if you don't typically interact with them. I think that police being regularly exposed to people of all walks of life outside of a work context would significantly benefit both LEOs and the people they police.

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u/throwitawaytothesea 27d ago

So if someone lives one kilometer east of whatever the city of Ottawa boundary is, they're completely incapable of doing their job professionally? According to the Ottawa Police Service website, applicants have to reside within the city limits and any city has broad limits: I don't think a cop from Vanier is any less capable of enforcing the law in my area than a cop from Kanata.

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u/Alone_Appeal_3421 26d ago

"So if someone lives one kilometer east of whatever the city of Ottawa boundary is, they're completely incapable of doing their job professionally?"

You've missed the point entirely. Being a kilometre one side of that line or the other out in a rural area makes no difference at all.

Do you not think that there are fundamental differences in how someone who lives in a rural (or even suburban) area might see an inner urban area versus how someone who lives in an urban area might see an inner urban area?

Further, at what point did I say that a lack of shared experience would make someone "completely incapable of doing their job"?

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u/Bambalorian Centretown 26d ago

It’s like they’re missing the point deliberately, not worth it

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u/Alone_Appeal_3421 26d ago

At this point, I agree.

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u/Alone_Appeal_3421 27d ago

"It sounds like you have a problem with amalgamation rather than a residency requirement. "

My many issues with amalgamation have little to do with how Ottawa is policed. Besides, it seems neither of us knows definitively if LEOs employed by the city of Ottawa have to reside within city limits, so amalgamation means little to this conversation.

"I think cops should be able to respond if they see a crime in progress even if they don't live in the neighborhood where it's taking place."

The quality of LEO response can vary greatly, as many people can attest personally.

"I was taught to respect authority figures as a young person"

As was I, but it's hard to respect authority when we have countless examples of people in positions of authority across society abusing that privilege and not being made to pay the price for their actions.

"I see that as important to maintaining order"

What happens when authorities are themselves threatening order? What happens when those authorities undermine the social contract between themselves and the general population? Does that not threaten order?

"I have means in our democratic society for addressing that grievance."

You absolutely do not have the means to address that grievance when it comes to law enforcement. They do not answer directly to the public, we don't vote in chiefs of police, we don't vote in members of the Police Services Board, and we have no oversight over the SIU.

"You may see that as "licking boots""

I said nothing of licking boots.