ST. CATHARINES, Ont. -- A photo of an unidentified Niagara Regional Police officer, apparently asleep in her cruiser, has become a local Internet sensation.
The undated photo taken at an unidentified location shows a blond police officer sitting in her unlocked cruiser, hands folded across her lap, mouth open, evidently asleep.
A person in a grey sweater taking a picture of the officer can be seen in the reflection of the cruiser's driver's side window. The camera hides the person's face.
An Niagara Regional Police (NPR) spokesman had little to say about the photo, which has made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter. But he did say the officer in question has been identified.
"From a performance and officer safety perspective, NRP will be looking into the circumstances in which the photo was taken," NPR spokesman Const. Derek Watson said in an e-mail.
The source of the photo is unknown, but the photo appears to have been posted by a Facebook user named Stephanie Gogo on a page called, "People Unite Against Police Brutality" on June 12.
Gogo could not be reached for comment.
This weekend another Facebook user, Pat Hudak, who goes by the handle "Pat Niagara," a self-identified member of a protest group called Canada Court Watch, circulated the photo to the Facebook pages of Niagara newspapers, including the St. Catharines Standard, owned by Sun Media.
Hudak said he posted the photo as part of court watch's mandate to protest what he called "the mush sector" of police, the courts and other public agencies.
However, he said he does not want the officer to lose her job.
"We absolutely do not want to see this lady fired. Absolutely not," Hudak said. "I think she needs to be taken aside and given a strict talking to.
"Being asleep with her door unlocked is dangerous to her and the public. But she shouldn't be fired."
The only thing I actually object to is the liberal idiot saying he didn't want the cop to get fired. Fuck that. Who fucking cares? Everyone else (outside of politicians) would get fired, but he's insisting that she shouldn't be? This is especially fucked in light of the fact that she could have had her gun stolen, and used for who knows what? Still, it's a funny story. Have a good one, eh.
