‘If the suspect wasn’t white, the police learned to walk away’

Excerpt from Christie Blatchford’s new book about Caledonia:

As the [white] fellow was heading into the coffee shop, the officer approached him and asked to see his licence.

“What for?” the man asked.

“You didn’t have your seatbelt on when you pulled in,” the officer replied.

The man immediately went ballistic, yelling, “You don’t police here anymore, you aren’t doing your job! Friends of mine are out of work for a month because you aren’t doing anything and you want to give me a ticket?” Pointing a furious finger, the man snarled “Fuck you!” and walked away. In the lot, the crowd that had gathered broke into applause.

This was a new vibe, foreign to this naturally conservative corner of Canada…