Courtesy of the CBC
Because I like bringing Canadian news stories here, particularly those from my home city, and because I think it bears remembering that all police and their departments are not hopelessly corrupt, I come bearing a gift.
Short version: Sergeant Anthony Braile was fired from the Calgary Police Service last week, after admitting to nine counts of professional misconduct and committing multiple Police Service Regulation offences.
Long version: In 2008, Sgt Braile pulled over a drunk driver, who attempted to flee. Sgt Braile called the incident in to dispatch and then pursued the driver in a high-speed chase, which ended when the drunk driver t-boned a cab; the cab driver was seriously injured in the incident.
Where did Sgt Braile go wrong? For starters. Engaging in high speed chases in against Calgary Police Service policy. When Sgt Braile called in to dispatch, he told them that he was not pursuing the drunk driver, when in fact he was. The chase lasted for 58 minutes, and at times reached speeds of 145 km/h. It bears noting this occurred in the month of December, when water, snow, and ice, are very likely on the roads. Also, highway speeds in Alberta are capped at 110 km/h. One might ask how we know all this. Each police cruiser in the CPS fleet is equipped with a GPS tracker which records both location and speed, something which all officers are very much aware of.
The area of the city in which this chase began was the largely residential District 2, and ended on Fifth Avenue in the downtown core (District 1), which is a one-way street. During the chase, Sgt Braile contacted another police unit and ordered it to assist him, using an internal messaging system (CPS cellphones, not their radios, which is a matter of course for most calls as civilians are allowed to listen in on police scanners). As previously mentioned, the chase ended when the drunk driver t-boned a taxi cab (hit the side of the car with the front of his own, forming a T shape when viewed from above), which seriously injured the cab driver. When other units arrived on-scene, Sgt Braile "provided misleading and incomplete information" to other responding officers.
Sgt Braile plead guilty to a charge of careless driving under the Traffic Safety Act in 2013.
So why was Sgt Braile fired? He conducted a high-speed chase contrary to CPS policy, which ended when the fleeing driver t-boned and seriously injured a cab driver. He lied to dispatch about conducting the chase, ordered another unit to assists him (essentially, ordered other officers to also break the rules and laws which he was breaking), lied to and misled other officers who responded to the crash, and admitted to violating Alberta's Traffic Safety Act with his reckless driving.
What are we to discuss? Firstly, did Sergeant Braile deserve to be fired for what he did? A point of contention to be sure, given the kind of leeway police officers are often given in the course of their duties. Secondly, is having a "no high-speed chase" policy good or bad? Given that this whole thing only became an issue because CPS forbids it's officers from engaging in high-speed chases, this is something that requires mention.
My opinions? Yeah, Sgt Braile deserved to be fired. Not for the high-speed chase, per say, though that clearly demonstrates a lack of judgement that would warrant administrative duties only, but because the chase ended with a civilian seriously hurt, and because Sgt Braile lied to dispatchers and other officers about what he was doing and what was happening.
And should CPS forbid high-speed chases? Absolutely. This incident only highlights the kinds of problems they cause, and in a city like Calgary, where driving conditions are often poor enough to make even regular driving a hazardous affair, high-speed chases are far more trouble than they are worth.
What say NSG?
