Sarah dreams of beansQuestion for #journalists -- do you avoid naming cops even when their names are available?
I know police departments rarely release names of police, even when they get fired for misconduct. But then sometimes I wonder whether the names were available and just left out of news stories?
Like this is an article about a court finding that RCMP violated people's rights. No RCMP are named, but several protestors and the judge are fully identified.
The baseline level of secrecy around police makes it confusing as a reader, for me at least. Does this mean the court didn't know any names either, or that the finding was about "the RCMP" as a group, or just that the journalist left out the names?
https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/02/19/RCMP-Violated-Charter-Rights-CGL-Arrests/
One time at a club, a friend apologized for showing up late.
Late friend: "Sorry, I dropped a full coffee pot and had to clean up"
Journalist friend: "Oh my god! What was it full of?"
So I assume journalists are usually asking for all the details, but I wonder if police are a special case 🤷
One more related example. I'm sure a separate person writes the photo captions, but the 4th photo in this article is captioned "Anti-logging protesters at Fairy Creek on Sept. 29, 2021" when there are also at least 4 cops in the frame, including the central subject. A whole other level to not even name that police *exist*.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/crcc-investigation-delays-rcmp-cirg-1.6934274
RCMP watchdog concerned with delays in B.C. C-IRG probe | CBC News
The RCMP’s federal review agency has hired an Indigenous-led law firm amid concerns around delays as it investigates the Community-Industry Response Group, special unit created to police civil disobedience against pipeline expansion in B.C.
Tanek Rune@beandreams
Even if the journalist isn't trying to, they may subconsciously not want to speak on RCMP or police officers. Unless the journalist is stopping to think about the power imbalance and correcting for that, it's bound to be the case that they will just opt to not stir tensions that could come back on them.
Even if the journalist doesn't register that they are uncomfortable challenging the institutionalized power, they're often acting in a way that doesn't step on powerful toes.
@beandreams
I wish more journalists had spines. The cartoons lied as much as copaganda does.
I wish more journalists had spines. The cartoons lied as much as copaganda does.
dragonfrog@beandreams I love that follow up question! I'd have assumed the coffee pot was full of coffee, and it probably was - but what if there was a fascinating story for why it was full of trilobite fossils? You'd never hear that story if you didn't ask.
Ms. Que Banh@beandreams The RCMP COs sent to #Wetsuweten land defenders/water protectors camp were Brewer & Charney. They were both promoted. Charney was the one who slashed the emergency water tanks, during wildfires season. DLT Newman was the CIRG 'Indian Agent' they sent to that camp & to Gitxan territory to help terrorize Indigenous land defenders. I have met all of these RCMP CIRG domestic terrorists on mainland & on the island.
Charney should be in prison - he's the most unhinged & they put him in charge of most of the violent raids.
Charney should be in prison - he's the most unhinged & they put him in charge of most of the violent raids.
@PhoenixSerenity See this is exactly why I wonder! Protestors and activists know the names of lots of cops and can pick them out in photos, but it's so rare to find news that names anyone other than the police media spokesperson
@beandreams Most independent media journalists who spend the most time documenting at various frontlines also know most of the CIRG names. There was still about 80% of CIRG who kept violating court orders to wear identification badges, to stop removing or taping over their identification badges & to provide their identification if asked when they've voluntarily engaged with the public or media. There was no real punishment for hiding their identities then or now.
I'm going to share what almost every indie media person had said to me at many different frontlines where CIRG thugs were sent. Almost all had to 'play nice' on some level to get any access to frontlines to do their documenting work. They targeted 3 POC indie journalists, that I met at camps, for over 8 months because those were the first to capture photos/vids of CIRG breaking laws/police brutality & one was threatened by RCMP after he exposed a lot of names & dug into their dirty work histories.
When MSM show up at frontlines, they're given an 'escorted tour' by CIRG. They don't interact with activists without CIRG babysitter, unlike indie journalists. MSM then publishes sanitized stories that does not reflect the on ground realities very well. MSM has also repeatedly published police PR as facts, when they are far from factual.
clewI wonder if that has changed over decades.
@beandreams Charney is like a BC/Canada version of former top US ICE-Nazi, Bovino. He's just a lot taller, is a Canadian-Nazi & got promoted instead of demoted.
Greg Johnston@beandreams I have not followed this case so lack good context. But maybe the names of the offending officers were sealed by the court, or they were not identified in the proceedings, because the case is not against the officers but rather against the protesters, who made this motion for acquittal based on the cops' conduct. I would hope they now file a case against those cops, in which presumably they'll be named. This is a huge issue in US now as well, after murders of protesters in Minnesota.
@GPJohnston
There was a large class action lawsuit filed against RCMP that was held up for review during covid. It wasn't allowed to proceed. There's another class action lawsuit against RCMP with almost same people but I'm unsure of the status of that one.