Boys with toys
A letter in the Vancouver Province, Nov. 10, 2014
I try to keep quiet as I watch the steady escalation of military manoeuvres by police forces in our society but I cannot let the incident involving an alleged murder on Vancouver’s west side Sunday morning go by without comment.
Your article says that “as many as 40 officers swept through streets, yards and alleys,” that “fire trucks and ambulances were stationed on surrounding blocks” and that the “operation was co-ordinated through a mobile command post.” In the end, suspect Brian Whitlock was talked out and taken into custody.
I know that hindsight is equal but is there not also an expectation of foresight in these matters? Surely the police intelligence services should have been able to identify this man and assess this situation and suggest a more moderate response.
I am a retired army major, having served in the armoured corps and the intelligence corps. I look on this incident as an example of the current trend of “boys with their toys”.
John Taylor, Vancouver
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