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Affirmative Action in Jail Sentencing
the court system in Canada is broken, and it’s only going to get worse
On December 31, 2020, a 17-year old man in Calgary was pulled over for a routine traffic violation by 37-year old police officer Sgt. Andrew Harnett.
After being stopped for ~45 minutes, the man fled the traffic stop with Harnett attached to the vehicle, dragging Harnett into oncoming traffic, where he was hit by a car and died. The fleeing man left Harnett’s corpse on the cold pavement, went home, slept, and then turned himself in to police the next day.
Sgt. Harnett left behind a pregnant wife whose child will now grow up fatherless because some entitled prick refused to get a traffic t
That driver who refused to get a ticket has brown skin — he’s middle-eastern. Needless to say, that shouldn’t matter one iota, but sadly Canada’s “justice” system is heavily based on skin color. The killer knew this, and milked it for all it’s worth.
“We do not have a justice system in Canada, we have a legal system.”
— Allan Hunter, friend of the deceased police officer
In court a couple of months ago, the driver spoke about how he’d spent a lot of time over the past months on social media because of the pandemic, reading about “oppression in Africa” and “the murder of George Floyd”. Because he was brown, he argued, he was afraid for his life. He blamed Andrew Harnett’s death on anti-brown racism.
“I’ll be frank, I think I was just trying to save myself … I’m thinking I’m done, I’m going to get dragged out of the vehicle and I’m going to get killed,” he said.
“You brought up George Floyd in your direct examination. Do you remember what happened to George Floyd?” asked the prosecutor. “Let’s talk about what we just saw with Sgt. Harnett if we could, because you’re bringing this up at a trial that involves his death … Any abusive language from him?“
“No,” the driver replied.
“Anything that was insulting to your age, your race, your ethnic background or religion?” the prosecutor asked.
“Not necessarily, no. Actually, I felt like I was being racialized, right? Just the fact that the door opened and the fact that he asked for my phone number. I’ve never been asked for my phone number.“
…as if being asked for his phone number is racialization that would make him fear for his life?
The prosecutor pressed on, arguing that any insinuation of the traffic stop being racist was something the teen wanted the court to “take his word for.”
“That’s how I felt,” the driver replied. “I look quickly to my left, I look to my mirror and I observed that officer Sergeant Harnett had his hand on his gun and as soon as I saw that, honestly I took off. I was scared … I thought something bad was going to happen. I thought just the fact, ‘Why would he have his hand on his gun?’”
The judge reviewed the body cam footage and concluded this “hand on the gun” line was a concocted story. The judge called the defendant’s testimony “untruthful,” “self-serving,” “evasive” and “fabricated.”
Nonetheless, it worked. The charge was downgraded from murder to manslaughter.
“We left feeling really defeated, we left feeling gutted, stunned,” said Jason Harnett, speaking on behalf of Andrew Harnett’s family. “It’s a difficult day.”
Manslaughter Conviction: Sgt. Andrew Harnett. Today’s verdict is a difficult one for members of the Calgary Police Service, and for Sgt. Harnett’s family & friends. We are confident that the solid case brought to the court will withstand the test of further judicial review. 1/5
“This was not the verdict we were hoping for. Nothing, however, that could have happened today would have changed the fact we have lost a friend, a colleague, a leader, & more importantly Andrew’s loved ones have lost a spouse, a brother & son,” Chief Const. Mark Neufeld.It should be noted that the judge who ruled that this was not murder, Justice Anna Loparco, was appointed by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party of Canada in 2016. This is relevant because the Liberal Party of Canada is notoriously soft on crime, strongly opposed to race-blind justice, and only appoints judges who agree with their racial ideology. Justice Loparco is symptomatic of a deeper rot.
From Anecdotal to Systemic: Mandatory Impact of Race and Culture Assessments
Anecdotes can be illustrative of a wider systemic problem if they provide a specific, relatable example of a larger issue that is present in society.
The anecdote of Sgt. Andrew Harnett shows the extent to which Canada’s justice system is broken… every single aspect of Canada is built upon the foundation of affirmative action, as outlined on Section 15(2) of our constitution.
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