A letter published in the Vancouver Province on Nov. 23, 2008
Tom Stamatakis of the Vancouver Police Union is wrong when he says police are treated more harshly than the rest of us. Cops don't lose their jobs for an impaired charge. But lots of other people do.
Few job categories outside the police have the luxury of reassignment to “desk duty” after an impaired charge. They certainly don't get put up for promotion, as a West Van cop did after her DUI.
The rest of us don't benefit from a tax-funded department like VPD Professional Standards, which exists to cover up for police wrongdoing.
As for the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, experience suggests it rubber stamps police internal investigations unless the complaint has advance publicity or the advance support of an influential organization.
Greg Klein, Vancouver
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