Police State Violence Meme and the Story Behind It

(Warning: profane language ahead.)

From time to time on social media we all come across police state memes like these:

Of course, many times we don’t see the stories behind the actual pictures themselves or find out who any of these people really are.

This meme is different:

The cop shown here is Toronto police Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani. He is chasing Toronto blogger Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy around with his stick held out. This picture was taken during the G-20 protests in 2010.

Andalib-Goortani was already given a 45-day sentence for using excessive force against another G-20 protestor prior to the incident above. He was suspended from the force following sentencing on that case. He is currently appealing his conviction, so his sentence is on hold.

Bettencourt-McCarthy was also covering the protests when the picture above was taken. When the Toronto Star later published Bettencourt-McCarthy’s picture in February 2011, Andalib-Goortani was hit with another charge, this time for assault with a weapon.

That trial is scheduled to begin next week.

Stories like these prove that not only should we fight for our right to photograph police, but we absolutely have to in order to protect ourselves these days.

It really does beg the question…

Is police brutality really on the rise, or do we just have an abundance of technological advancements (read: cheap, plentiful cameras and the Internet) on our side now?

Well, what do you guys think?

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