....the judiciary and community get a failing grade.
Cops vow to stem rise in area gun violence
The area of north Etobicoke where Tevane Lennon died in a hail of bullets has been rocked by gun violence recently.
One chance too many
Why was accused shooter out on bail?
By JOE WARMINGTON
And if four rounds he allegedly fired had been a couple of centimetres down and to the right, Toronto would be planning another cop funeral.
And if this gunplay took hero cop Const. Lance Verdoold's head off Monday evening, who in the justice system would like to explain to his wife and child that the man who allegedly fired the gun wasn't only granted bail after charges in February involving a gun in a car, but is also on a lifetime court-ordered weapons prohibition for a 2007 conviction?
It's safe to say Mensah hasn't yet gotten the message that our justice system doesn't want him around guns.
And our justice system, so far, keeps letting him out. It's sick.
I know there are some whale kissers who call this progress, but don't tell that to Kevin Permaul, 27, Alia Al-Eazi, 26, and their children, Rashawn, 6, and Kyle, 2, who were violently house-jacked and held at gunpoint just prior to a police chase, which resulted in the cop being shot at.
What kind of cowardly scumbags hold up kids and allegedly put a gun to their dad's head in front of them?
Today, Mensah, 22, a Canadian citizen who was born in Ghana and had been living in the Jane-Finch area with his mother since being released on bail, is in the slammer charged with attempted murder. He's to appear in court Aug. 21.
But for how long? And why was he out on bail in the first place?
Records show he served time for weapons possession, was told to not have weapons and was allegedly in a car with another man with a gun in February -- a case that's still before the courts!
It's unclear where this case is at in the system. Trying to find out about this alleged attempted cop killer's criminal charges and courtroom status is as hard as trying to win the lottery.
His bail hearing papers in Old City Hall courts are missing, everybody understandably seems afraid to release his mugshot in this soft-on-criminals state for fear of reprisals, while this punk who doesn't follow the rules is coddled and bubble-wrapped by the system, which in the past has not wanted to hold on to him.
That's the bad guy in this story. There is a good guy. And some good news.
The good news isn't only that Verdoold wan't wounded -- although he does have bite marks to be treated for. But my favourite part isn't only that he was shot at, he also still made the arrest.
It didn't surprise his older brother, Dirk.
"He has done a few things," Dirk says, laughing. "He has good instincts. It's automatic with him."
First there was an incident in 1993 where he saved an alleged home invader from the ledge of a building and then arrested him.
Then, last October in the Muskoka River he saved two brothers, aged 12 and 14, by the Bracebridge Falls from drowning. "They got about 40 feet from shore but were starting to struggle," Verdoold's wife, Karen, wrote in a Muskoka newspaper. "They began to yell for help and my husband ran down the dock and dove in. He pulled both of them in to shore."
So this is what we almost lost -- a brave cop who'll risk his life to save others, even those who'd allegedly harm people.
Thankfully, his wife and two-year-old son have their dad home safe and sound. But it almost wasn't that way.
It'll be interesting to see how long it is before Mensah is back on the street and to see if he finally decides to comply with the laughable gun ban the court imposed on him?
JOE.WARMINGTON@SUNMEDIA.CA
1 comment:
Didn't Harper PROMISE to do something about it?
But now it's someone else's fault isn't it.
Always someone else's fault...
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