or should that read....Black Lawyer Sees Dollar Signs?
"Black Lawyer Alleges Racial Profiling" was the CBC's headlines regarding allegations from a fresh out of school lawyer in Toronto. It was the kinder of many. Another stated "Black lawyer accosted by police". You will note if you google this incident they all have to throw the 'lawyer' part in the headline. Why? To make police seem absurd for conducting an investigation? Of course, because the media thrive on such dramatics and semantics. They love to drag anyone they possibly can in to the deep deep ocean of Shame. But I tend to agree with the police spokesmen, Mark Pugash, who said "That Bogle is a lawyer was simply not relevant".
Mr Bogle seems to believe that he needs to throw his Ontario Bar Association identity card in peoples faces to lend legitimacy to himself. As if this piece of "I.D." exonerates him from all bad behavior (real or perceived or suspected) and should shield him from police investigations. Guess what Mr Bogle, there is probably a much higher percentage of bad guys in the law business then there are in the police force. Because you went to school, because you have a 'white' girlfriend (which you felt the need to point out) does not make you better than others.
And what did Mr Bogle do after proclaiming he was a member of The Bar did not work? He started name dropping. Name dropping officers that he knew with in the police force. Apparently high ranking officers. He admitted himself that the investigating officers were then deterred from their investigation. So what
really happened here? Did the police (who were wrong) back off or did Mr Bogle effectively intimidate police officers? Did he intimidate them in to believing that Mr Bogle had power over their jobs? Over their careers and livelihoods? And is intimidation not a crime?
After reading numerous articles it seems that the incident was merely a case of mistaken identity. Police are not super human perfect beings. They are allowed to, on occasion, make mistakes. Afterall if the only mistakes they are making is minor mistaken identity issues, then we should feel fortunate. We only need to look to Los Angeles or New Orleans and the history of their police forces to know, that some people when given a badge, simply can not function within the boundaries of law themselves. On occasion resulting in violent or deadly incidents.
I'm not claiming to know all the details of the incident being discussed. After all I wasn't there. But neither were any of these news agencies that are "reporting" (I use the term loosely) on the incident. It is angering to see that they all lean towards the accuser without delving first in to all of the facts surrounding the case. Why were the police in the area? Why so many? Was Mr Bogle tipped to police as a criminal? Was there a similar vehicle and description given for an incident in the area? You DON'T KNOW. I don't know. The police know, but due to privacy laws and investigative regulations set out by Police governing bodies, they can not discuss or divulge much detail. Mr Bogle may know. Apparently the police went to great lengths to try to explain to him what was going on. But will he tell the media or admit there was any semblance of a legitimate reason for stopping him? No. He doesn't want to jeopardize the 1.5 Million he is now going to sue for. Afterall that'll pay off his student loans (if he has any) and leave him with a tidy sum, to perhaps furnish his new law office?
Oh wait, maybe I shouldn't have said all that. Perhaps he will find my little tiny piece of the web and sue me for hurting his feelings and stealing 3 minutes of his time, the time that he took to read this. Or maybe not.............
