Many people have misconceptions about what police officers do: VPD

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Following last weekend’s shooting of two Mounties in Alberta and several other targeted attacks on police officers in this country in recent years — safety is being pushed to the forefront for members nation-wide.

However, there appears to be many misconceptions about what police officers actually do.

Having been on the force for more than two decades, Vancouver Police Constable Brian Montague says he learned very quickly the job is much more complicated than what the public perceives. He feels there’s a misunderstanding of what their job description includes, adding officers do much more than just hand out tickets.

Montague explains, to a degree, there’s also a double standard. “The public has a perception of how the police should be doing their job. And I think one of the things they forget is we’re wearing a uniform, we’re readily identifiable. The public knows we have certain rules and laws that we have to abide by and play by, but the people we’re interacting with don’t have a uniform. There’s no way for us to know who these individuals are. We’ve never met them before in our lives. We’re dealing with the unknown.”

Montague says safety is always a concern for them and something they discuss as a department.

“I think with some of the high-profile incidents that have happened recently, you can’t help but think it could happen in Vancouver. We have had officers who’ve been shot and killed in the line of duty in Vancouver, thankfully not for a very long time. And I’ll speak from personal experience. I’ve been punched. I’ve been kicked. I’ve been bit. I’ve been spat on. I’ve had objects dropped from six or seven storeys off a balcony on me. I’ve been hit with lead pipes. I’ve had someone slash me with a razor blade. I’ve had someone try to shoot me. I’ve been jumped in a bar — the stories are endless, but we let our training kick in and we respond to those threats as we think is necessary.”

“I think it’s [safety] always in the back of the minds of every officer. You can’t let it run your life, of course, and I think a lot of it has to do with letting the public know we’re part of the community.”

He admits there are also a number of people, some local, who have genuine hatred for law enforcement.

“I think that was another thing that shocked me a little bit when I started this job, was to see that while the vast majority of people in Vancouver and across the country support their police departments and support their police officers, there is a fairly large group of individuals that have a true distaste for police. A lot of that has to do with how they’ve grown up and been part of the system, having been in and out of jail all their lives.”

Montague isn’t sure if that hatred will ever go away, but he explains they try to show their ‘human side’ whenever possible by using tools like social media.

“We do our best to try and change the way the public perceives us. We want to let everyone know the police officer they see driving down the street or walking the beat is part of the community, they live in the community and that we’re not very much different from them.”

He also understands officers are held to a higher standard and will always be criticized. “What we have to realize and what the public needs to realize is we’re held accountable for everything we do. Not only am I accountable to my employer and to my supervisor, but I’m accountable to the executive and the City of Vancouver and the Police Board. And I’m accountable to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC), I’m accountable to the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) and I’m accountable to the courts.”

Montague says what they ask of you, is to try and learn what they do before judging. “Perception can sometimes be a dangerous thing and a little bit of knowledge can sometimes be a very dangerous thing. I know when I hear public comments being made about police officers, with regards to a situation; usually they’re made with little knowledge of what’s involved and what’s been happening in that situation. To provide a public opinion on something you know very little about can often have some drastic consequences.”

 

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