Durham cops' cell block video draws fire
A framegrab of a video prepared by some Durham Regional Police officers joking about making a break from cell duty that has resulted in an investigation.
A framegrab of a video prepared by some Durham Regional Police officers joking about making a break from cell duty that has resulted in an investigation.
A framegrab of a video prepared by some Durham Regional Police officers joking about making a break from cell duty that has resulted in an investigation.
A framegrab of a video prepared by some Durham Regional Police officers joking about making a break from cell duty that has resulted in an investigation.
Full Screen is not supported on this browser version.
You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen.
Article content
YouTube video
Perhaps ombudsman Andre Marin wasn’t joking when he compared Durham Regional Police to National Lampoon’s Animal House.
Move over Scorcese, these Goodfellas are supposed to be on the other side of the bars.
There was no Oscar nomination Thursday for three Durham officers who starred in their own mini jailhouse movie all over YouTube.
But there may be a reprimand coming for some alleged bad acting since the chief has given the performance a thumbs down for this comedy.
“DRPS Chief Constable Mike Ewles has launched an internal investigation after a video depicting three disgruntled employees was posted on YouTube,” said a release. “On Wed. Jan. 15, 2014 a 63-second video appeared on YouTube depicting three employees of the DRPS. It was produced to appear like a Hollywood movie trailer and depicts them trying to get re-assigned out of the court services branch.”
Called Central Cells, with some dramatic music in the background, the three officers mock working with prisoners in the lockup.
“These officers on a quest for freedom will soon discover there is no escape from cell block,” says the trailer.
It also flashes “force to service prisoners, how far will they go for freedom?”
The video shows the officers — listed in the credits as Sgt. Mike Glennie, PC Paul Gregoriou and Special Const. Harold Tasson — horsing around in the cells with a Taser, pretending to give toilet paper to inmates through the bars, making a snow angel on top of a squad car and mopping up blood off a cell floor.
And there are some famous guest stars, too, including President Barack Obama.
They don’t have Hollywood legends Glenn Ford or Harrison Ford but they do have a cameo of Mayor Rob Ford and his animated drinking and driving mime in the council chambers last year.
“As the Chief, I am disappointed by this on a number of levels,” Ewles wrote. “Our courts branch plays an incredibly important role in our business and I want to assure members of the community that we take this important function very seriously. The safe and secure handling of people in our holding cells is a top priority for this police service. We invest heavily in training and continually review safety procedures to ensure this vitally important area is managed properly.”
Employees in the cells will be interviewed, he promised.
“One employee depicted is a supervisor and that’s even more troubling for me,” said the chief.
Turn the pages of this script, though, and one finds there are more twists in this plot.
That supervisor, Glennie, was up until this year president of the Durham Regional Police Association whose political battles with Ewles are epic.
As widely reported in media accounts, the DRPA claimed Ewles did not allow a security person at a 2011 Oshawa Generals game to search the purse of his wife to which produced the unfounded claim that a gun was among the contents.
They also alleged the chief had involved himself in a speeding ticket battle of an acquaintance.
In each case Ewles was cleared of any wrong doing.
The drama between those two is not new, said one Durham copper, adding many are “embarrassed and tired” of the circus.
Stay tuned for the next scene.
This issue was dealt with as soon as the Toronto Sun first reported on the video Thursday afternoon — a quick move, compared to last summer’s stealth tweet from a senior detective about Marin being a “card-carrying” member of al-Qaida which took months to get to get sorted out.
Same goes for the video of an in-uniform officer threatening to beat up and plant cocaine on a man.
Still, this spoof seems tame compared to previous alleged horror shows.
Maybe people should lighten up some. It just seems like some guys in a tough job blowing off steam and trying to be humorous. What about a little Durham Region Redemption?
The three officers named were not on duty at the time it was shot, a line in the video says. And they did return phone calls seeking comment.
We did an online poll and while 46% thought it was inappropriate, 53% thought it was funny.
“There is nothing funny about playing around with the Taser or making light of mopping up blood of prisoners in our custody,” said a copper who works with the three. “This is a serious job and most of the officers here are serious people.”
Maybe for the sequel the Coen or Farrelly brothers would be better than Scorcese?
“Police stations are not expected to be run like National Lampoon’s Animal House,” Marin told reporters last summer. “It’s unfathomable that this could happen in a police station.”
Not unfathomable in Durham, however.
But forget hiring a lawyer and somebody get those coppers an agent.
