They probably would have arrested Don Ho, too

"If that bubble touches me, you're going to be arrested for assault"

-Constable A. Josephs, Toronto Police 

Dear Constable A. Josephs of the Toronto Police,

You are such a dick.

Respectfully,

Rev. Paperboy



Seriously, arresting people for blowing bubbles? That is pretty much the Unabriged Oxford English Dictionary definition of cops without enough to do -- good thing there is no crime in Toronto.
(Video totally stolen from A Creative Revolution, who rock, bubbles or no bubbles)

Addendum: Perhaps we could all chip in and send Const. Josephs to some sort of relaxing event to help him unwind, perhaps a soccer match or something? I'm sure it's lovely in East London this time of year.

We have ways of making you talk

The Toronto Star reports that the officer involved here has pleaded guilty to uttering threats. How about armed assault? Abuse of authority? People swept up by the Toronto Police at the G8/G20 were charged with more serious crimes for a whole lot less. If soap bubbles can be considered assault, then how is this revolting threat of torture with a deadly weapon not aggravated assault?
We keep being told that Tasers are supposed to be a non-lethal alternative to guns, but again and again, we see stories of them being used as compliance weapons or torture tools.
As for the officer in question, he will be sentenced in June. Until then, he is on paid suspension and departmental disciplinary measures will not be decided until after the sentencing. As far as I'm concerned, the conviction should see him automatically dismissed from the police force and barred from doing any kind of security work.
The one bright spot I see in this case is that this gross misconduct came to light because another officer who was reviewing the in-car videos on another matter reported the offending officer to the department's professional standards branch, which handed the file over to the courts. Its about time the police started putting professional standards and proper respect for the law ahead of the unofficial thin-blue-line omerta that allows so much abuse to go on.
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My old neighbourhood

by now, you have all seen plenty of footage of the worst hit areas of Japan in and around Sendai and the north east coast. Here are just a few images of my old neighbourhood in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture in the Tokyo suburbs. Bear in mind that this is an area that was not hit by the tsunami and is roughly 300 km away from the epicentre of the quake near Sendai.

Watch the sidewalk move and the ground liquify.


The shifting earth dropped the street and shoved these manholes up very near the intersection where the video above was shot.

All the mud and water you see is a result of soil liquification due to the earthquake. As in the video at the top, it just sort of bubbles up through the surface in a matter of seconds.



More video here

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Credit where credit is due

Hurray for Constable Bubbles. He has done the right thing in identifying fellow police officers who are accused of breaking the law. More cops should do the same.
That it is considered exceptional or noteworthy behaviour for a police officer to report illegal activity when other police officers are involved speaks volumes about the state of modern policing.
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Boo-frickin'-hoo

If "Officer Bubbles" really wants to put an end to the shame and embarrassment he suffered as a result of his idiotic actions at the G20 being widely publicized, he might want to chose a different tack. After all, is getting  yourself saddled with the nickname "Constable Crybaby" really going to make things better? I'm sure this will make the other guys and gals in the squad room stop teasing him.

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