(Aired March 25,2010)

A video on You Tube this week showing a Victoria police officer kicking and kneeing two different people apparently involved in a bar brawl certainly doesn't put police in a good light. One particular officer seems to go up to one person lying on the ground and give him a kick to the stomach. He then goes to another person, also on the ground, and appears to kick him, then knee him in the kidneys to try and get him handcuffed. Many are making this out as the latest black eye in a continuing round of accusations of violence against police officers. This event certainly makes it seem that the police overreacted. But I will still give police the doubt until I hear all the facts. You've heard me say many times that what appears to be the case isn't often the case at all. The video is only one small part of the overall story. We don't know what was going on outside the range of the camera. It was a bar brawl. Anything can happen. We don't know whether there were reports anyone was armed. We don't know the extent of the fighting. When a small group of police officers is called out to what could be a major conflagration, you have to be prepared for the worse. I'll agree that the shots of the officer kicking the two men doesn't look good. He knees one man in the back, but it's pretty obvious that the man wasn't being cooperative and he probably did it to make him put his hands behind his back. I can't defend or persecute the police yet in this case, because we don't know all the facts. But I do believe we have to wait till we see the results of the investigation before we make a final decision. So often, there's much more than meets the eye. And I would still frankly put my faith in the force than not. Maybe I can be accused of turning a blind eye to the situation, but I can live with that.