A young woman was the victim of a shooting and died. A second person was also shot. A man was arrested. That this is a tragedy cannot be emphasized enough. But what followed is important for other reasons. A lengthy thread about the police reaction. 1/13

@PeelPolice posted, quoting @ChiefNish “….the sadness I feel for the victim and her family is mixed with frustration for a complete failure of our justice system to protect her.” He referred to the fact that the accused was on several releases when this happened. 2/13

@ChiefNish called it “A failure of systems to protect her”. The Peel Regional Police Association @peel_pa went further and blamed the Judges, JP’s and Judicial system for allowing this to happen. The Chief of Police for Halton @ChiefTanner decried the institution of bail. 3/13

This is problematic. Buckle up. People are allowed to have opinions. Even police. However, the police hold a special place in our society. They are trusted (by many) and must be careful in expressing them. They have a duty to not to misstate the law. 4/13

Arguably, the police should not advocate at all in their official capacity. Their role includes investigation, enforcement, and crime prevention (their ability to do so recently questioned). The police are not advocates. Yet here we are. 5/13

I am also an officer of the Court. I am often critical of rulings, the law, and the Court. Keep in mind that I am actually an advocate. But even when I am critical, I endeavor to be intellectually honest about how I do so. 6/13

@ChiefTanner simplifies the issue into a call not to let dangerous repeat offenders back out. Law be damned. In Canada reasonable bail is a right. It is complex and nuanced. He resorts to a blunt instrument of jail. This is dangerous rhetoric. 7/13

@peel_pa blame the Judges/JP’s for this tragedy. This is horrific and irresponsible. They point out that these judicial officers will not be named implying that they should be singled out for doing their job. This is nothing less than an attack on judicial independence. 8/13

Remember people protesting the police? The police with their statements of support and commitment to being better? How quickly they revert back to ‘jail’ as their default? @ChiefNish seems to believe that the failure was in the fact that the accused was out on bail. 9/13

During the current pandemic more people than before have been granted bail (not enough IMO) and the sky has not fallen. 10/13

Judicial officers considering bail aren't psychic. This event was undoubtedly tragic but @ChiefNish feels no need to reference the successes of bail. Our Supreme Court has recently told us that not enough people are getting bail, not the other way around. 11/13

The police here are not being intellectually honest. They are intentionally using a tragedy to amplify a false narrative. Check out the comments. I am not opposed to using events (tragic or not) to push discussion but this should be done responsibly and honourably. 12/13

Final note. To those Crowns who quietly monitor #lawtwitter. You bend over backwards and perform intellectual gymnastics to protect the police. Be aware that these tweets aren’t just critical of Judges. They also threw you under the bus without thinking twice. 13/13