Is this vigilante action?
Vigilante actions? Consider the following possible scenarios in light of protests in the past few weeks. You be the judge.
A single mother finally gets the money together to pay her property taxes. She goes to the government office on the last day to pay and finds the entrance blocked by protesters. She asks the protesters to let her through, to no avail. The police are present and do not assist her. She unsuccessfully tries to push her way through. By trying to push past the protestors is she a vigilante because she is doing something that is a police responsibility? Should she be arrested and led away in handcuffs?
A couple is driving to a hospital where the wife will receive medical attention after a six-month wait. They encounter a pallet on the road, part of a protest blockade. The police are present. The man stops the car, and attempts to peacefully remove the pallet. Can the pallet only be removed by the Highways Department? Is this man therefore a vigilante? Should the police handcuff the man and arrest him?
The police did take a man away in handcuffs from the Courtenay road blockade earlier this month. The “vigilante” was peacefully removing pallets from the highway. The RCMP later stated that they are concerned about vigilante actions.
Vigilante (Cambridge Dictionary) A person who tries in an unofficial way to prevent crime, or to catch and punish someone who has committed a crime.
Don Graham,
Chemainus
