quote:

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The officers responsible for the botched investigation of a fatal crash involving a Winnipeg policeman will now be the subject of a criminal probe, and their police force will be disbanded following the release of an inquiry report into the death of Crystal Taman.

Ms. Taman, a 40-year-old mother of three, was killed in February, 2005, when a truck driven by Winnipeg police officer Derek Harvey-Zenk smashed into the back of her car while she was stopped at a red light. Mr. Harvey-Zenk had been at an all-night drinking party with fellow police officers, and even though he refused a breath test and witnesses said he smelled of booze, a series of investigative errors led the Crown to drop alcohol-related charges.

Mr. Harvey-Zenk's conviction on a charge of dangerous driving, and his sentence of two years house arrest, caused a public outcry and led to a commission of inquiry headed by retired judge Roger Salhany.

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So it took a drunk police officer and his ass-patting buddies trying to keep him from getting hit with the same righteous hammer of justice, as is demanded for every other drunk driver, to finally prod the RCMP and the government into bringing the police to heel instead of letting them continue to act like uncouth out of control louts.

So what will it take next time? A police officer stealing a military tank and running someone over with it to create enough of an outcry to force the RCMP to begin disciplining its officers with some vigor?