Fines for insulting the police in Montreal

[urquell]

So, in September Montreal passed a law making it illegal to insult or harass the police. The mayor's office was pointedly saying that no one is going to get a ticket for flipping off a police officer or calling them a name with no other circumstances involved but at the same time the law doesn't really define what is sufficient provocation is and it's so vague that seems to leave it up to the discretion of the police officer to decide when they feel they have been sufficiently insulted and/or harassed. The fines can be quite hefty and it feels like there's a lot of latitude for abuse here. There's also some freedom of expression issues. Not sure how much court time will be taken up by people arguing rights and what constitutes a crime here. I'm not wild about the idea of giving the municipal cops the latitude to be even more arrogant or petty (or both) than they already are. What do you guys think?

 

[Happy_Guy]

All this started with this guy, Bekkali, insulting police, filming it and posting it on Internet.
Telling a woman she is your slave as nothing to do with freedom of speach.

 

[neverbored]

I think its fair that police officers should be allowed to conduct their "legal stops" without having to be insulted and berrated for doing their job. I would really hate to see it being at the discretion of the police officer. However if there is sufficient recorded proof of (like in the case of that idiot Bekkali) ... I would have no issue. Where it gets touchy is if they use it against someone that is intoxicated or has mental issues (ie : homeless). It should go both ways.

Body cams would be useful.

 

[Fradi]

So, in September Montreal passed a law making it illegal to insult or harass the police. The mayor's office was pointedly saying that no one is going to get a ticket for flipping off a police officer or calling them a name with no other circumstances involved but at the same time the law doesn't really define what is sufficient provocation is and it's so vague that seems to leave it up to the discretion of the police officer to decide when they feel they have been sufficiently insulted and/or harassed. The fines can be quite hefty and it feels like there's a lot of latitude for abuse here. There's also some freedom of expression issues. Not sure how much court time will be taken up by people arguing rights and what constitutes a crime here. I'm not wild about the idea of giving the municipal cops the latitude to be even more arrogant or petty (or both) than they already are. What do you guys think?

Many cops have a chip on their shoulder and are arrogant assholes. Giving them this kind of power is asinine and will only put them more on a power trip.
I have never had a pleasant conversation with a cop, they are always trying to interrogate you, they are usually rude and most of them are uneducated morons.

They should instead have a law that forbids them to harass citizens.