Introduction
An analysis of the case study of an Aboriginal youth named Randy Fryingpan vs. Constable Mike Wasylyshen will be conducted, commencing with a brief summary of the incident that occurred ten years ago. An exploration of police use of force and discrimination will be discussed.
Summary of Issue/Incident/ news Early in the morning, on October 5th 2002, five Edmonton Police officers, including Constable (Cst.) A. Normand (No. 1809), Cst. P. Blais (No. 1900), Cst. R. Sparreboom (No. 2309), Cst. R. Foote (Resigned) and Cst. Mike Wasylyshen responded to a complaint of an attempted car theft on Abbosttfield road. When the officers arrived on scene they immediately demanded that the four occupants exit the vehicle, without first running a licence plate search (Edmonton sun, 2012). Three of the four occupants exited the vehicle leaving only Randy Fryingpan left asleep on the backseat (Edmonton Sun, 2012). Randy Fryingpan had been unresponsive to Constable Mike Wasylyshen’s demands to exit the vehicle as a result of alcohol consumption. Cst. M. Wasylyshen decided to Taser Randy …show more content…
Under section 15 (1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Section 3 (e) of the Canadian Multicultural Act, proclaim the rights of residents to be free from discrimination (Griffiths, 2013, 2008). The lack of community relations between the police and the community they serve creates a potential for distrust and misunderstanding by both parties. This sometimes leads to targeting specific people or profiling entire minority groups with criminal activity (Griffiths, 2013, 2008). “Racial Profiling can lead to racial discrimination, which may manifest itself overtly, subconsciously, or systemically” (Griffiths, 2013, p. 299). Research shows that Aboriginal people represent 4% of the Canadian population and 1 in 5 inmates in federal prisons (Griffiths, 2013,