I have again been again told of actions by the Abbotsford Police Department that suggests they have a different standard of treatment for the homeless; which is both unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour.
One of the homeless approached me today to relate an incident that occurred with the Abbotsford Police Department. Someone, who was not themselves homeless but works with the homeless, had suggested to him that if he spoke to me I could write about it and perhaps something may come of that. Several other members of the homeless community spoke to me about this incident as well.
It says something rather disturbing about the behaviours of the APD and the City of Abbotsford that in an incident where it was felt an injustice was done, the only recourse that was felt to be open to the homeless was through my writing. How would you feel if your only recourse for unjust treatment was something posted on homelessinabbotsford.com and sent as a letter to the editor on the off chance it may be published and questions asked? I find that reality disturbing.
As the story goes someone phoned the police to say he was physically abusing the woman he was with.
He said that previously someone who had an issue with him chose to cause him problems by telling the APD that he was an abuser of woman. Although no charges were ever laid the APD has him on record as an abuser and he feels treats him unfavourably and with physical roughness because of this.
I do not know the truth of this earlier problem as I lack the resources to investigate and it is not my job to ascertain the truth of this matter, one way or the other. It is the job, the duty, of the APD to have found out if he was an abuser or if the other person was merely using (or should that be abusing?) the APD for revenge. It is the job of the APD to make that determination, particularly if their treatment of this man is going to be based on that claim.
The facts I do know about this recent incident is that when the police arrived the couple were nowhere near each other. That the woman stated there was no physical abuse (a statement she also made to me) and that if someone had made such a report, they had mistaken the horseplay going on for an assault.
The police promptly ignored what they were told by both him and her. They handcuffed him, handling this roughly enough to leave his wrist bruised, and tossed him in a cell for 15 hours. No charges were filed and he was released and left to walk home. Her they just dumped at the Emergency Shelter.
I would never claim this person is a saint. I can say I have known him several years and never seen any behaviour of abuse to women. But the real reason for doubting he was physically assaulting her is that I have also known her for several years and in a physical confrontation I would be betting my money on her.
They are homeless and even if not exactly upstanding or outstanding citizens they have the right to be treated with professionalism, fairness and courtesy. We (and they) are Canadians living in Abbotsford not citizens of North Korea. The APD needs to be reminded of that fact and required to respect the rights of all citizens, including the homeless.
