Winnipeg Copwatch

1) Run for Rights

Winnipeg Copwatch will be participating in the 7th annual Run for Rights held at 8:30am Kildonan Park on Saturday June 7th 2008. The run is aimed to raise money in support of Winnipeg organizations working for social justice and human rights, because we cant all have government funding, or do not necessarily want government funding. But anyways, Copwatch is participating and we will be collecting pledges to cover our day to day expenses and fund our actual copwatch patrols.

Copwatch is very excited to be working with other great organizations in Winnipeg in the struggle for tangible human rights. For more information, check out the Run for Rights website, or you can download our pledge sheet(PDF) and start asking everyone you know for the money, its “only” 10km, or 5km, or you can walk, bike, run, or whatever you want.

2) Patrols

Copwatch has recently gone on two patrols.  In one of our encounters officers rushed one of our video cameras and demanded we step back. At this point the person responsible for liaising with the police informed them that we were not there to interfere, we would stand back and we are simply observing. Officers then threatened to seize the video camera and continue to advise us that we were in a dangerous neighborhood and “you guys are gonna get it”. What that individual officer meant at that moment in time I suppose we will never know. It is however unfortunate that that two of the six officers present were threatening to seize a video camera because we were present and documenting their actions.

Our role is not to interfere or to escalate the situation. We are simply observing police interactions with citizens because the Law Enforcement Review Agency in charge of handling police complaints is ineffective without video or audio evidence. We also feel that officers will operate according to their core values which include respect and integrity if people are observing, whether Copwatch or people from the neighbourhood. The mentality of “war” that the police have with certain neighbourhoods its very dangerous and must change.

3) Get involved!

We are continually looking for people who are interested in getting involved in this type of work. Whether you are interested in going on patrols, helping us organize workshops, or just wanting to assist in the day-to-day operations of Copwatch, we need you! Just ring us up at 942-1588 or email us in our contact us section.

On a final and sad note for this post, the NYPD detectives that fired over 50 shots to kill Sean Bell and injure his friends less than a day before his wedding were acquitted from all charges.
+ Police acquitted over NY shooting BBC News.
+ Were New York cops trigger happy? BBC News.