By any means considered, more than a measured amount force

There are rising calls for accountability in Victoria this weekend, as police in Oak Bay try to explain why an 87 year old man found himself roughed up at the hands of two local police officers.

The elderly man, who was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt by the Integrated Road Safety Unit of Greater Victoria, was manhandled and handcuffed rather roughly by the two officers. It was an incident which was witnessed by at least a dozen onlookers who were apparently quite shocked by his rough treatment at the hands of the law.

His story has not only made the news in Victoria, but across the province and indeed across the nation. While there is always the need for both sides of that story, the concerned onlookers suggest that it was a gross over reaction by the police officers involved. It’s certainly a losing situation for the police officers involved and their superiors who will have to look into the situation.

For the moment those superiors have dropped a cone of silence on the controversy. Since the incident no one has been available to the media to explain what happened, but as they say a picture can sometimes be worth a thousand words. The review of the incident and pictures posted on the CTV website (and relayed on the National News) of the man’s bloodied wrists and his emotional anguish over the incident, suggest to a very improper handling of what should have been a simple routine ticketing session at best.

It would seem that common sense was in short supply at the time by the authorities on the scene, one hopes that the police of Greater Victoria can get a better handle on the way they handle these things in the future.

One thing is certain, with the pictures and description of the arrest getting such a public airing, the police officials in the B. C. city are going to need to provide a lot of explaining one would think.

Roughing up a man closing in on his nineties suggests that there are a few officers of the law that perhaps are not quite up to the challenge of modern law enforcement anymore.