To the Editor:
For what is appearing to be self-serving reasons, the Thunder Bay Police held a media event to reassure us that things are okay.
The police service is under investigation for systemic racism. I won’t jump to conclusions, but with this going on, does it not suggest that the leadership there got them to this point? I can’t recall the last time they met their budget, but that didn’t stop them from asking for another million or so and their willing servants at city hall might as well have said, “are you sure we can’t give you more?"
We find out that the chair of the police services board was removed for about a month and not only didn’t we know, she refused to advise the public to the reasons why. Isn't her role to serve this city?!
The chief of police looked incompetent during the W5 show in December, on the number of deaths in our community and he is now suspended while charged with two crimes. We had the vice-president of their union charged for gun crimes and he seemed to get a sentence that was a pretty good deal.
And now the folks who got jobs in large part because of our suspended Chief are now running the place and one of the lines used by the new acting chief is that it is "business as usual".
Perhaps operating this place like you have in the past is why our police force seems under siege? We need to go outside for a new acting chief to clean the place up. Maybe the government needs to step in and take over this board and replace it. I guess our police service has made the national news because it is always business as usual.
Tanis Jones,
Thunder Bay
