TGCTS Podcast: Police Chief Smyth Makes Himself An Election Issue

Listen to the full podcast to find out why Winnipeg Police Chief Smyth has made himself an issue in the upcoming mayoral election.

No Rogers network crash is going to stop The Great Canadian Talk Show from telling you what you didn't know about Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth. 

At his press conference on Friday, he did everyone the favour of proving he is a major civic election issue. 

Smyth spoke to the media only after feeling the heat from the police union, after Winnipeg Police Association President Moe Sabourin stated "attacks on innocent people appear to be more common" - a phrase anybody with half a brain can understand. Not the top cop, though.

Despite robbery after macing after stabbing at The Forks, Danny Smyth not only said HE feels safe at the Forks- and as we explain, why wouldn't he?  -  the chief did what any politician will do when faced with their own failure. 

He blamed the media. 

"None of this is new", stated the guy whose career path has gone from superintendent to deputy chief and then to chief since 2012, while crime has skyrocketed on his watch. Pointedly, Smyth did not shed any light on the brutal beating of 2 newly-landed Ukrainian refugees on July 1st. Smyth could not even admit the stabbing in the neck of one of those refugees was attempted murder. A description of the suspects a week after the attack? Ferget-it. 

We have a brief audio clip from the presser around 16 minutes in, so you will hear it for yourself.

“I feel safe in our community,” the press reported he said. “I can’t speak for everyone’s feelings but I think we’re doing our part. The community needs to do their part. The media needs to do their part.”

Luckily, doing my part back in 2019, I wrote an extensive report on the way crime had spiraled out of control, citing the cops own statistics. Wait till you hear how over the course of 5 years in just one area, property crime spiked over 90% - and ask yourselves, how much worse is St. Boniface today? 

And we explain why. In fact, "none of this is new"! After all, Smyth showed how little he cared about being held accountable for fighting crime three years ago. 

As he predicted, the crime rate got worse - but according to him, he is still blameless. 

Already, one Mayoral candidate has called out Chief Smyth. 

Don Woodstock posted on his election website: "We have a problem and it's major, despite what the Chief is reporting. We are on the street speaking with the public and people are extremely nervous.”

Citing his experience owning a security company, Woodstock said, "He is not being honest with our crime situation… I am proposing that the Chief of Police should never be the spin-doctor for the administration or politicians. Our Chief was merely spinning a story because of his political appointment.”

There's a lot of details- and we try to make it relatable to your own feelings and experiences with crime in this city. 

To end the show, we quickly glance over council candidates recent Twitter posts - none about Smyth so far- and we talk more about the effects of the Rogers network crash on small business and just plain folk.

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