Imagine if you will, a horrific crime occurs — any bad craziness you might wish to imagine that leaves a wickedly bad taste in your mouth..Police detectives have only a vague description of the perpetrator, but know they can immediately and substantially trim their suspect list because the witness remembered one fact about the criminal: He had but one arm..Great, one might naively be allowed to think, that narrows it down a bit and — if the info is released to the public — could be a huge break in solving the horrific crime..However, police are unable to release that vital fact of the case because it may trigger, or offend other amputees in the community..Sounds bloody ridiculous, doesn’t it?.Well, welcome to 2022..The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) recently found itself in the soup because it released information pointing to a black suspect in a 2019 sexual assault case..March 10, 2019 was the day cops were called to see what the hell was up after it was reported a woman was yelling for help in the area of 103 Street and 114 Avenue in North Central Edmonton. When police arrived, they found a woman in her mid-20s who’d suffered obvious and serious injuries. She was naked but for the shirt on her back..The woman had apparently been walking near a bus shelter on the west side of 101 Street when she noticed a number of people — including an unknown male — waiting at the transit stop..After a bus picked up its fares, the male followed her as she continued to walk on. The man suddenly assaulted the victim, pulled her into a field surrounding St. Basil and Spruce Avenue schools, then mercilessly and violently raped her until she was out cold..It was an unthinkable crime “that very nearly caused the death of the young woman who was left unconscious and almost fully unclothed on a minus 27-degree morning …” said Enyinnah Okere, chief operating officer for the Community Safety and Well-being Bureau of the EPS..“It’s the type of case from which a victim may never fully recover, made worse by the fact that after two years she has not received justice,” he said in a recent release..Indeed, the vile crime was of the type that motivate and grip investigators for the same reason sex offenders have relatively short shelf lives once behind bars — we all have moms, or sisters or daughters or nieces and when you’re in the thick of it, it’s difficult not to imagine a loved one in the same terrible situation as the poor victim..The suspect was purported to be 5-ft 4-ins., wearing a black toque, pants and sweater or hoodie. He also spoke in an undetermined accent, but because of clothing that did the job of concealing his face, that was all the victim could provide by way of a description..What followed was a years-long investigation where no witnesses, CCTV, public tips or DNA matches were found..Enterprising detectives then took an extraordinary step when they enlisted Parabon NanoLabs, a technology company in Virginia that specializes in advanced DNA analysis..The service used DNA phenotyping, the process that zooms in on physical appearance and ancestry from unidentified DNA evidence..Using DNA evidence from the investigation, Parabon produced trait predictions for the associated person of interest and individual predictions were made for the subject’s ancestry, eye colour, hair colour, skin colour, freckling, and face shape. By combining these attributes, a "Snapshot" composite was produced and indicated the suspect was, among other traits, black.."The suspect description, based on information provided by the complainant as well as DNA analysis, indicates he is a black male of entirely African ancestry with dark-brown to black hair and dark brown eyes, 5-ft 4-ins.".“The suspect may be older, may have a different body composition and may have facial hair or a different hairstyle than depicted in the photo," the EPS said, referring to a police sketch of the alleged creep that was posted online..Cops probably couldn’t believe their luck at having the additional information, clues they could release to the public and — fingers crossed — locate the piece of garbage who committed the crime..“I have nothing but respect for my team for being willing to try every conceivable tactic to bring this case to a satisfactory conclusion — the victim deserves nothing less,” said Okere..The info was indeed released to the media, which then reported to the public..However, cops didn't receive the response they were looking for..Within a couple days of the release, Okere — who’s “responsible for overseeing our sexual assault section” — issued a massive mea culpa for identifying a possible suspect — y’know, doing his job to try and bring a scumbag rapist to justice..“While the tension I felt over this was very real, I prioritized the investigation — which in this case involved the pursuit of justice for the victim, herself a member of a racialized community, over the potential harm to the black community. This was not an acceptable trade-off and I apologize for this,” Okere continued in the release..As a result, the EPS removed the visuals provided with the release from its website and removed all social media images..I can’t say with any certainty the seasoned copper was compelled, prodded, or forced to write such an apology, but after more than two-decades working as an investigative crime reporter — a time when I met and was befriended by dozens of police officers — I can say this to Okere: You did absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, I'll tell you we admire you for going above and beyond in trying to solve the case..I know coppers can get emotionally involved and wrapped up in investigations. (I’ve sat with more than one officer who shed tears of frustration after being hand-tied by bureaucratic bullshit.) Sometimes they have blinders on as they laser-focus on the task at hand..Good! That’s exactly what we want you to do!.We also want the bastards off the streets. So instead of putting up roadblocks, we should do all we can to help police clear the streets of scum..Can you imagine if cops were so shackled back in the '80s they couldn’t tell the public Hong Kong-born Charles Ng — another piece of putrid flotsam who, with an accomplice, is believed to have raped, tortured, and murdered between 11 and 25 victims — was of Chinese descent? I know the Chinese community wouldn't have been up in arms over such a fact..Interesting word that: Fact. That’s exactly what DNA evidence is — facts accepted by courts of law throughout the world..It's truly a shame facts collide with all this woke attitude BS and “newspeak” out there, but too bad. Facts don’t care about your feelings. Facts don’t care they identified an ethnic suspect in a repulsive crime. Facts are facts, period..If things don’t change in the world of criminal investigations — and I mean quickly — the next release from cops seeking public help may go something like:.Police are asking the public to keep their eyes open for a suspect involved in a crime (we can’t say what that is because criminals might be triggered)..The suspect did … something to somebody..Him/her/them/their/it is described as a person..Please call the EPS or Crime Stoppers with any information you may have related to the … unpleasantness..Followed by a second: In my release about a crime that happened somewhere to somebody, I inadvertently used the word “criminals.” I did not think this through and failed to consider the harm such a word might have on the lawfully-challenged community. I unreservedly apologize for such a glaring mistake and have undertaken to erase the fingerprint files of each and every person who was ever arrested..Followed by a third: In my most recent release, I used the words “lawfully-challenged.” I am ashamed at my lack of focus and knowledge on the subject, and formally wish to apologize to any peccadillo perpetrators I may have unknowingly offended..Welcome to policing 2022.
