On May 19, Vancouver police officers ed Anti-Poverty Coalition member David Cunningham, claiming to be journalists for the commuter paper 24 Hours and requesting an interview. Cunningham met them, whereupon they arrested him for threats he made to of Vancouver’s Olympic Games organizing committee.
Cunningham is now out of police custody on a peace bond.
Vancouver Police Department Constable Tim Fanning claimed to have no prior knowledge of the ploy, but said it was motivated by Cunningham’s “background,” which has been confrontational towards the police in the past.
This impersonation of journalists by police officers is a frightening and appalling abuse of power. A journalist’s role is predicated in large part on trust: it’s the journalist’s job to be open in establishing a relationship with a subject and a reader.
These officers’ actions have clouded and mishandled that trust dynamic, and have embedded in people’s minds the suspicion that purported “journalists” may be claiming that title under false pretences.
As well, the nonchalant assumption that there’s nothing wrong with officers taking on the guise of journalist indicates their attitude towards the press as a tool to be exploited when convenient. This compromises the press’s stance as a neutral third party.
This underhanded tactic is an example of overkill at best and gross misconduct at worst. In addition, it casts further doubt on police credibility—not a wise move for a profession based on the exercise of authority. Can of the public be blamed for fearing or mistrusting the police when the people whose job it is to protect them have no qualms about willfully misleading them?
Fanning’s excuse that, “if they had asked me before they did it … I’d say, don’t,” is a pathetic and clumsy cover, and leads the public to believe that either this constable is incompetent and has no control over his officers or that he’s a liar. Neither option is remotely appealing.
This underhanded behavior paints a sorry picture of the state of Canada’s free press and the lack of respect its law-enforcement officers bear it.
Vancouver’s police department should take swift disciplinary action against all those involved in Cunningham’s arrest, both to deter such activities in the future and to prove to the public that the police respect the freedom of the press and understand why these unacceptable actions impinge upon that freedom.
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