And while the police act does give the ComPol the authority to dismiss officers that go before the Tribunal, not every officer is slapped with such a harsh penalty. In Reid's video, he stated that he pled guilty because he did not believe the ComPol would go there since this was his first infraction, and he believed he was defending himself.
In fact, there are other cops who have been caught on camera using a lot more force with civilians. And let's not forget about Nipsey, the dog who was shot and lost all her puppies as a result.
But when the media asked about these cases, the ComPol deflected.
Reporter:
"The cynicism comes from the fact that you have officers on the force that have been caught doing things of similar nature, one officer shot a nursing dog, a police officer in San Pedro gun butted a man in the head, just recently an officer down south shot a man to the stomach, for the most part they still have their jobs."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Mr Lopez, I notice you are one of the reporters who try to piggyback a lot on Jules Vasquez."
Reporter:
"Sir, it's facts."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I guess you're trying to be like him but Jules is much better looking than you."
Reporter:
"Yeah and I have hair and no belly."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"You have belly, stop your fool. [laughs]."
"But on a serious note, we have to look at every issue based on the facts. The issue with the dog Nipsey, I will have to check with PSB to see where they are with that matter but again we have to look at what was the circumstances. The officer who went to that house where Nipsey was shot, they went there to execute a search for motorcycles that they believed were stolen, I think the motorcycle was also found at the house. I am not sure if the dog attacked them or not or what led to them attacking the dog, that matter is with PSB. In terms of the issue in Independence with the officer who you mentioned shot the man in the stomach. As I said on Wednesday, I have my opinion but I'm going to keep my opinion to myself until after the investigation is done. There is nothing to show or suggest that nothing is going to be done to the officer, it is still in the infantry stage so give us some time to be able to address that issue. But the thing with this whole issue is that I am sure that had I not taken the decision I took with Reid and that video would have been leaked, some of the same people right now who are criticizing me for dismissing him would have been criticizing me for not dismissing him. There are people out there who just always want to be opposing the decisions I make."
Reporter:
"This is the second time this week that the police has had to withdraw statements from the media or from the public, are you guys tired? I don't know, what's happening?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"How many times have you not had to withdraw statements that you made publicly on your Facebook page? Is it that you're tired. Come on Mr Lopez, we're only two, you are several. Last night you had to make two adjustments in one night. So let's be real, let's not pretend that the police are not humans and you are humans, that only you can make mistakes. All of us can make mistakes, okay and please, I have answered your question to the best of my ability, I will always do my best to be honest to the people I serve, whether they see it that way or not, I will always be honest."
