A Windsor woman claims female U.S. border agents at the customs checkpoint groped her. The 33-year-old, by the name of Leslie Ingratta, filed a claim in a U.S. District Court in Michigan. She said the sexual grouping was humiliating. She and two other Canadian women are suing the female U.S. border guards at the Detroit border crossing.
The allegations stated in the statement of claim have not been proven in court. According to the statement of claim, Ingratta stated she was subjected to “an invasive personal search by two female border guards who fondled her breasts and buttocks and stroked her groin”. After the incident, Ingratta stated one of the officers asked her if she was on a “booty call”.
Ingratta said she was let go after being searched and questioned by agents for two hours. All three women allege that they were unreasonably and improperly searched at the border in violation of the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Ingratta’s claim states that the search was contrary to standard Customs and Border Protection procedure.
Ingratta is seeking compensatory and punitive damage. Her Michigan based lawyer, Tom Wienner, has requested tapes from the waiting room. Ingratta states that she wants “people to know there was no reason for it”.
Read the full article here.
150 University of Windsor students marched through campus on Wednesday February 1, 2012. Students complained that the election-campaign promise of a $1600 tuition break applies only to one-third of Ontario’s 900,000 post-secondary students. A day later, Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Glen Murray stated at the University of Windsor that “This is not the end of the line”. Murray stated that the grant, aimed at full-time undergraduates dependent on their parents, in fact covers 310,000 of Ontario’s 600,000 undergrads. He noted that this is the largest student aid increase in Ontario’s history. Taking into account other student aid, he stated that 475,000 students get government help. Murray confirmed that next he will be turning his attention to the remaining 125,000 students, many of them part-time students who cannot afford to go to school full-time.
Read the full article here.
A Windsor detective is at the centre of a $14.2 million police brutality lawsuit in Windsor, Ontario. The civil suit was filed by Dr. Tyceer Abouhassan. Of the eight officers named in the suit, including the chief, an investigation by the Windsor Star has found that six of the officers have blemished records.
Detective David Van Buskirk is charged with assault and public mischief in relation to the April 2010 beating of Dr. Abouhassan. According to court documents, the endocrinologist was jogging from the train station to a prospective location of his new practice when Van Buskirk confronted him at Jackson Park Medical Centre.
Dr. Abouhassan suffered a concussion, broken nose, bruised ribs and a detached retina. Van Buskirk charged Dr. Abouhassan with assaulting a police officer, a charge that was stayed by the Crown after an investigation laid criminal charges against Van Buskirk instead. This case echoes two other Van Buskirk cases in 1993 and 1994 of allegations of false charges against a victim of police excess.
Lawyer Julian Falconer who represents Dr. Abouhassan states, “That is the way police accountability functions in the province of Ontario. They can duck. They can jive. It is a huge, huge problem”. Furthermore, he states “There is a false sense on the part of a significant number of officers that they should be treated differently when determining whether their actions are lawful”.
Professor David Tanovich, who heads the Law Enforcement Accountability Project at the University of Windsor law school, echoes that “One of the problems is the general perception that if officers engage in misconduct, their partners and even those in the judicial system like Crowns and judges will have their back. This perception has to be addressed in order to deter misconduct”.
Falconer states that strong police leadership is required that will not tolerate misconduct by its officers.
Read the full article here.
The Occupy Windsor movement decided to decamp a week ago after two months at Senator David A. Croll Park. Occupy Windsor participants have stated that the problem with the movement was a lack of leadership and structure. The protest was losing its focus on the real issue – of “getting the 1%’ers at the top of the social food chain, as well as their political and banker enablers, to show a little more respect for the rest of us below them”. The Windsor Star article states that with the halt of the Occupy Windsor movement, protestors are now free to tackle those big ideas.
Windsor’s “Occupy the Future” takes place today at 1 p.m. outside city hall. There will be speakers, then a march and finally a rally where anyone with a constructive idea is free to climb the soapbox and address the gathering.
For the full article click here.
A small group of Windsor residents gathered outside of Windsor city hall today on December 4, 2011. The group of demonstrators are demanding reform to Canadian pensions. One local retiree stated that they are asking for the government to put “people in front of monetary values”. The retirees represent the national pension reform committee. The committee is suggesting improvements to the Old Age Security program and a minimum hundred dollar increase to each senior, in addition to yearly percentage increases. Most demonstrators held red signs that read “Hand off pensions and benefits”.
Read the full article here.
Councillor Drew Dilkens from the City of Windsor states that he will press ahead with his demand that the Occupy Windsor encampment outside city hall be removed. His opinion differs from that of Mayor Eddie Francis’ who states that his and the council’s focus must be on jobs and economic diversification and that inflaming the situation by intervening, could result in a negative image for Windsor.
Dilkens wants to know from administration why the protestors are able to flout bylaws that prohibit overnight camping in city parks without a permit and damage deposit. As quoted from Dilkens, “You either follow the law, or move on. The lawlessness is what I’m trying to end…I expect to see some action”.
Mayor Francis states that the Occupy Windsor movement is very different from larger cities, and that it is being monitored on a daily basis.
Other Councillors in Windsor have agreed with Mayor Francis that the protestors have been well-behaved, and there seems to be no need for a confrontation. Councillor Alan Halberstadt states that he sympathizes with the cause, but ignoring city bylaws cannot continue indefinitely. Councillor Halberstadt suggests that the protestors must come forward and explain specifically what they are looking for.
Read the full article here.
This week brings another unfortunate case of police brutality in Windsor, Ontario. A man claims he was permanently injured after a Windsor officer assaulted him. He is seeking $1.25 million in damages. This is the second policy brutality lawsuit launched within eight days.
The complainant, Rod Wuschenny, states that Const. Brad Snyder assaulted him on September 26, 2009. The beating was captured by security cameras. Wuschenny filed notice with the court that he intended to sue, two years after the date of the incident. He filed his statement of claim a week later. No statement of defence has been filed.
Read the full article here.
The Occupy Windsor movement is picking up steam. Windsor is inviting residents to share their stories at Senator David A. Croll Park. They are encouraged to share how they have been affected by globalization and unemployment. Their stories will be used during a demonstration on Saturday November 12, 2011 where they will be asked to speak out across the city with their concerns and hopes for the future.
Read the full story here.
A no-nonsense judge banished a Toronto drug mule from Windsor on November 8, 2011 after he was caught with crack cocaine stuffed in his rectum. The Ontario Justice Micheline Rawlins also kicked him out of Essex County.
Justice Micheline Rawlins stated, “We don’t need to import people from other jurisdictions to bring drugs to Windsor. We have plenty coming across the border”. The Justice’s statement is indicative of a pressing concern in the city of Windsor, Ontario. The statement further indicates that this issue is not being taken lightly and measures are being taken in the legal system.
Read the full article here.
In an inspirational march on November 5, 2011, about 75 women, men and children gathered in the downtown core for Windsor’s first “SlutWalk”. The individuals engaged in the protest in response to Toronto police Const. Michael Sanguinetti’s statement at a York University safety forum last January that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”.
The residents outraged from this statement joined in a collective movement on Saturday to demonstrate their individual acts of agency and to create social change and awareness about sexual assault. Amy Lafreniere, an active member of the protest stated that, “The way I see it, you can go walking down the street in a snowsuit or your birthday suit. Either way you shouldn’t be touched inappropriately anyway, anytime, no matter what time of day it is”.
The march has also taken place in other parts of the world, including Denver, Australia and New Delhi. The engagement of these members of the Windsor community in sending this powerful message is commendable and a necessary step in the right direction – to make loud and clear that “No means No!”.
Read the full article here.
