WARMINGTON: OPP probe video appearing to show kid pushed from scooter

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You know the wheels are coming off lockdown enforcement when the police are targeting a “12-year-old” potential violator in a skateboard park.

And a free society is skating on thin ice when videos show up appearing to show a kid being pushed to the ground by a police officer.

What occurred in Gravenhurst is exactly what people were afraid would happen when the province brought in new guidelines to give police power to randomly stop people during the Ontario-wide stay-at-home order. Since those powers were backed off on, and most police services indicated they had no interest in enforcing them, no one dreamed something as ugly as this appears would still happen.

But it did Sunday.

Perhaps the OPP didn’t get the memo? Or maybe their instructions are to still to do random stops?

Most people thought such interactions could happen on the highways or at border points. Not at a skateboard park. Not in playgrounds. And not involving police in confrontations with kids.

The video appears to show a boy on a scooter being knocked down during a conversation with an OPP officer. The audio of the incident offers some insight.

“Don’t touch me,” a youth can be heard saying. “What are you doing?”

Another young person can be heard saying “he’s 12 years old” and “we are trying to leave, man.”

The audio is believed to be one of the officers saying, “He failed to identify” and “You don’t talk to an adult like this.”

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It has not been confirmed if the boy is 12, but in the video it is clear this is a youth that is much smaller than the police officer. Whether the boy was thrown from the scooter or there is another explanation will be part of the investigation. A fair probe to gain all context from all sides of this is necessary and is what I am told will happen.

“The OPP is aware of a video of the incident between the officer and the youth in the skate park in Gravenhurst and have started an investigation into the circumstances and actions of the officer,” said a statement from OPP spokesperson Sgt. Jason Folz. “If there are eyewitnesses who have not yet spoken to investigators, please contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.”

OPP can also talk to the two officers who are seen in the video engaging youth on scooters and on roller blades. in the park. There were several kids in the Youth Park at 275 Winewood Ave. E. on Sunday and there’s more than one video surfacing for police to look at.

However this shakes out, there is a climate in Ontario that has to change. It’s too tense out there. Too angry.

People need to keep their cool.

It’s important for authority and public servants to be reminded the people who live here are not the enemy and government is in place to serve the citizens and not the other way around. They work for Ontarians and this is a free country where having kids on scooters or in playgrounds is a good thing. Let the kids skate. Let them play. Keep them happy because the adults are struggling through an unhappy time where the future is unclear.

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In fairness to authorities, Muskoka has had 350 positive COVID cases over the pandemic and there have been cases among a few children in schools. Law enforcement is asked to keep people away from public spaces with a view to ensuring safety and preventing virus spread. But there has to be common sense applied. Yes, there is a battle against the coronavirus and its variants. But there is also a battle for keeping the sanity of the province together, as well. This is why getting out to the park is important for people.

This video offers a glimpse of what Ontario could look like if we allow it to skate down the path toward a dystopian state.

jwarmington@postmedia.com