We understand that the police have a very difficult job, and that many people do things that they shouldn't, making the the police officer's job even more difficult and dangerous, but these two officers are NOT conducting themselves in a way that we as citizens desire.

While this was not Tiananmen Square, nor was it on the level of the protests this past summer in Belarus, it IS in the same vein. Ultimately, police forces and the military must be aligned with regular citizens, and they must not blindly follow, and brutally enforce, the dictates of a government.

The statements of CPS Supt. Ryan Ayliffe on Friday, are presumably supported by the police chief Mark Neufeld, and it is clear that the perspective of our police force's upper management is NOT in line with a great many of the people they are beholden to serve.

"The arrest ended up happening because there was non-compliance," CPS Supt. Ryan Ayliffe told reporters on Friday. "We will not tolerate people that don’t want to willfully comply."

If police chief Mark Neufeld does not understand our perspective and does not agree with us, then we request that he be replaced, along with all others that share the attitude expressed by Supt. Ryan Ayliffe. If police chief Mark Neufeld agrees with us, but doesn't know how this situation could have been handled differently, then we request that he be replaced by someone that can figure this out.

We note that in a June 17, 2020 Global News Morning interview, police chief Mark Neufeld stated, “We're hearing some interesting things about our use of force policies” (At 1:53 of the video in the link.)

If police chief Mark Neufeld thinks that is should keep his job, and that he can provide the leadership, creating a police force that we the people desire, then he must explain how this incident happened on his watch, 6 months after he heard “some interesting things about our use of force policies”.

To start with, the officers could have simply answered the questions that the young man asked, in detail, pulling out the actual regulation and reading it word for word.

If a parent treated their teenager like this, Child and Family Services would get involved. The parent would likely be charged with assault, and the child(ren) would be removed from that parent's care.

(If you think that the police acted appropriately, and used a reasonable amount of force, then presumably you think parents should be able to conduct themselves likewise.)

In police statement, they remarked, “our job is to enforce the laws that our elected governments put in place". As asserted above, the police should not blindly enforce “laws that our elected governments put in place". Regarding those laws, we the people are endeavouring to address the actions of the politicians.

An additional comment to those readers that disagree with the perspective provided here. If you think that the people on the rink were creating a dangerous situation, then you are entitled to protect yourself by staying in your home. The government and the police do not need to do anything to protect any of us from this sort of thing. Everyone can fully protect themselves to whatever degree they want. If someone thinks the risks of going to Costo and being among a few hundred strangers are low enough, they should be able to go to Costco. If someone things the risks of skating on an outdoor rink with a few friends and few dozen neighbours, they should be able to go skating.

Risks to the healthcare system being overwhelmed can be addressed in other ways.