David Chen is not a criminal. He is a small-business owner and an ordinary Torontonian. He attempted to assist the police in the capture of an actual criminal who had already stolen from him and returned to do so again. Mr. Chen did what any of us would have done.
[...]
...Through my sweeping external audit of all City departments and agencies we will find the way and means to get more police on our streets. Re-building the trust between City Hall and the people of Toronto starts by restoring a sense of safety and security in our communities and that's going to take a greater police presence on our streets.
If you've read about David Chen--a Toronto shopkeep charged for arresting a shop-lifter who stole plants from his store and returned for a 2nd batch--he's an easy guy to support. And Rossi ties this into his own version of a "Law And Order" policy. Clever, that. Betcha we get similar statements out of Ford and Smitherman within 24 hours.
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The Chen case is interesting only because it juxtaposes so nicely with another, similar case in Winnipeg:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Shopkeeper-charged-in-fatal-shoplifter-assault-93695479.html
The shoplifter was beaten and died days after, apparently of her injuries.
I bring this up in support of the law. I believe Mr. Chen was wrong in his actions and it is very dangerous to challenge this law. Store security people are very aware of this law and work within its confines. By changing this law as some would do a greater ill would be released. Rather than increasing punishment on these people (and most shoplifters have problems surviving for whatever reason) we should look to help them You only have to take a look at the statistics of who shoplifts to realize you're dealing with drug addicts, (Mr. Chen's perp) the poor and old people. I can only imagine the stupidities that will start to be reported if Mr. Chen is allowed to go entirely unpunished.
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