Police chief defends charging store clerk accused of beating robbery suspect with bat

globalnews.ca:

robbery attempt last week.Social media reaction has poured in since police on Tuesday reported on the dual charges stemming from an incident on Jan. 5 in which a suspect allegedly struck a store clerk with a baseball bat and demanded money.However, police report the 22-year-old clerk was able to gain possession of the bat and followed the suspect outside the store.

He then allegedly struck the robbery suspect several times with the bat.The 37-year-old robbery suspect was sent to a Toronto hospital with head injuries. He was charged with robbery, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon.The clerk was charged with aggravated assault.Public Statement: I would not normally release a message of this kind, but the commentary that has taken place following our media release today, in relation to a store clerk also being charged following an attempted robbery (https://t.co/driE7iidYc), is unfair to the men and… https://t.co/wBeVI05vWp— Chief Stu Betts, Peterborough Police Service (@PtboChiefBetts) January 10, 2024Peterborough Police Service Chief Stuart Betts says various comments on social media — including questioning the clerk’s charge — are “unfair to the men and women of my organization.”“They are doing great work in our community,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday evening.

“Yes, this case is unusual, but in a world where security cameras are everywhere, do you really think we would not have seized and reviewed the footage as part of the investigation and prior to laying charges?”Betts refuted some critics who say the charge against the clerk is connected to politics or race or that victims in crime are being penalized.“This is not about politics — politics have nothing to do with the facts. This is not