A polite and helpful reminder or blatant strong arm tactics? Decide for yourself.
Dear Winnipeg Copwatch,
I am the Special Events Coordinator, Winnipeg Police Service, for parades in the City of Winnipeg. It’s come to my attention that you are involved in organizing a march on Winnipeg streets on Saturday March 19th, from Selkirk Ave to Langside St. I’d like to offer my assistance in arranging for a parade permit and police escort for your event so it is done in a safe manner for both the participants that attend and general traffic on the roadways.
So you are aware, the City of Winnipeg Traffic By-Law (#1573/77) requires “any procession of pedestrians numbering more than 30, standing, marching, or walking anywhere on a street”, to obtain a parade permit from the Chief of Police. There are a number of very good reasons to comply with this requirement, but the most important is for the safety of your participants. By applying for a parade permit I can arrange for a police escort of your group and determine how many police units are required to provide adequate escort for the number of people that you expect to participate and the route that you choose. The permit also provides some basic liability insurance for the organizer/s and participants should an incident occur for which somebody could be held liable. Without the permit and insurance anyone involved in an incident, such as a collision, would first of all be considered to be in breach of the law by being on the roadway without permit, and might also find themselves being held criminally and/or civilly liable.
The simple solution to avoid any problems is to apply for a parade permit. I am attaching a parade permit application cover sheet. It describes all the information I require to process a permit request. If someone from your organization answers the questions on the form and sends it back to me via email I will process the request, arrange for proper escort, and send you back the permit documents via email.
I am sending this email to your organization as the flyer advertising the march (attached) listed Winnipeg Copwatch as a contact, and your website lists your organization as involved in a coalition planning the “International Day Against Police Brutality 2011” events. I spoke with Sheila in your office this morning and advised her of this permit process and she suggested sending this email to your general email address.
If there is somebody more appropriate to send this to, please advise, or forward this email to them so the application may be completed as soon as possible. As noted on the application, we usually require two weeks notice for parade permits, but if you have it sent to me first thing next week I’ll process it in time for your event.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Patrol Sergeant Kevin Cisaroski #1608
Winnipeg Police Service
Central Traffic Unit
Special Events / Speed Timing Coordinator
ph (204) 986-5403 office
email: KCisaroski@winnipeg.ca
Cisaroski is one of those functionary types, a pencil pusher whose blandness masks the horrors facilitated by his organisation. He lost any trustworthiness when he lied to our faces in the aftermath of the May 26, 2006 Critical Mass.
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