WARMINGTON: More than COVID to fear on Toronto's mean streets
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These are mean streets now.
And getting meaner.
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WARMINGTON: More than COVID to fear on Toronto's mean streets Back to video
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There may be fewer people out and about during this lockdown, but there are many with a penchant for violence who didn’t get the stay-at-home order and wouldn’t follow any rules if they did.
When you walk in the Yonge-Dundas Sts. area, you will find empty businesses, vacant buildings and many homeless people living on grates or tents.
But a video blogger, who goes by Johnny Strides on YouTube, captured the kind of violent crime that often goes unnoticed.
A woman behind a bus shelter at Yonge-Dundas Square appears to be assaulted by a man who takes off. Not only did the popular and talented Johnny capture the incident, it also caught the eye of Toronto Police.
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“(Officers at) 52 Division are aware of the video and are investigating,” said Const. Jenniferjit Sidhu.
Six hours later, police arrested a man and were expected to charge him in connection with this assault. I will follow this up tomorrow.
But this prompt police response is good news. This is what police are here for.
They are not here to enforce unclear stay-at-home orders with more holes in the rules than a wheel of Swiss cheese. They should not be put in the unfair position of enforcing made up rules that criminalize law-abiding people.
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Let the police be the police. They know how to do that. Politicians should never direct them.
The police understand the pressures faced by society and politicians should not pressure them. It’s already stressful enough. These are the kind of cases they like to handle — ones where they protect people.
This assaulted woman is the perfect example.
“He hit me. He beat em up,” the woman told Johnny, who managed to capture some of the incident in his video.
She complained of an injury to her wrist
The man allegedly involved cursed and yelled before fleeing. The bad news for him is there’s also several police cameras just above where this happened, offering a bird’s-eye view.
This is where police can help the community as oppose to nailing people for mask or social distancing violations. You can help to by tipping off Crime Stoppers.
If hard-working Ontario residents are not suppose to be out, this guy should also be indoors.
The coronavirus may be the main bad guy whom authorities have focused on. But there are other bad guys, too, on Toronto’s mean streets.
Be tough on COVID-19 for sure.
But let’s also be tough on anyone who assaults innocent women.
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