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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
“Brian, you know you think you hurt your mother. We just want you to come out and talk about it.”
It was that plea by a police negotiator who identified himself over a megaphone as Eric that stuck in the mind of Barrie Urquhart, a resident of Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood.
Urquhart recalled Sunday afternoon the details of an eight-hour police standoff that began late Saturday a block from his home and ended just before dawn with Brian Whitlock being taken into custody. Whitlock, 28, was charged later in the day with second-degree murder.
In the summer of 2012, Whitlock beat his two-year-old German Shepard, Captain, and left him for dead in a Kitsilano dumpster. Whitlock, then 26, got a 60-day jail sentence and a lifetime ban on owning animals after pleading guilty to animal cruelty in the high-profile case.
Police were called to the Dunbar home at 8:30 p.m. Saturday after a relative found a woman’s body, said Const. Brian Montague.
When police arrived at the scene, they found that a man had barricaded himself inside the two-storey home on a lot where a laneway house was under construction.
As many as 40 officers swept through nearby streets, yards and alleys, securing the area, say residents. Fire trucks and ambulances were stationed on surrounding blocks, and the operation was coordinated through a mobile command post that drove in and parked on the east side of Valdez Park.
“I’m not coming in,” Urquhart said Eric told the suspect before members of the Vancouver Police Department’s Emergency Response Team finally coaxed him from the home in the 3100-block of West 23rd Ave. “You’re going to be safe with me, Brian.”
Urquhart said Brian Whitlock lived in the house with his mother, which property records show is registered to a Barbara Whitlock. Urquhart, a general contractor, knew the man fairly well. He had given Whitlock a job in the past, and had known him as “one of the neighbourhood kids.”
Since that time, area residents said they regularly spotted him spending time in nearby Valdez Park, which is a popular spot among dog owners.
Residents spoke of feeling unsafe with Whitlock around — some because of the incident with his dog, and others, who knew him closely, because of a gradual and negative shift in his personality they said they saw over the decades they knew him.
Whitlock’s mental health was cited as a factor in the animal cruelty case. Medical records indicated he had been diagnosed with, and was being treated for, psychosis and schizophrenia during the year leading up to his sentencing.
Area resident Leah McIntyre said many of the negotiators’ requests were simple: they asked the man to turn down the music — he was listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They asked him to turn his porch lights on and off to let them know he was hearing them.
They also asked him to knock on his window, McIntyre said.
“He was responding with frantic thumping,” she said, adding that she could hear the banging from her house, about a block away.
It was not until shortly before 5 a.m. that the man finally left the home. He was shot with a non-lethal bullet because he was not compliant, Montague said. Police took the suspect into custody and they will be recommending murder charges to crown prosecutors, Montague said.
Investigators dressed in white plastic suits worked at the scene Sunday. The entire block where the standoff happened, and the alley behind the home, were draped in yellow police tape. At about noon, officials wheeled a stretcher that appeared to be carrying a body draped in fabric into a white van with black tinted windows.
“It’s safe to say we’ll be looking at whether or not mental health played a role in the homicide,” Montague said.
Police have not yet released the name of the victim.
The story was updated last I checked that it was whitlocks Mother. Now I've said it before, and I will say it again. Animal abuse needs to be taken much more seriously. Why wasn't he given proper psychiatric assessments after a violent crime against an animal? Why were such obvious signs of violent behaviour ignored. Its quite a fucked up situation, but the biggest example of an "I told you so" moment I've seen in years.
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98 technoviolet M3/2/5
Quote:
Originally Posted by boostfever
Westopher is correct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fsy82
seems like you got a dick up your ass well..get that checked
Quote:
Originally Posted by punkwax
Well.. I’d hate to be the first to say it, but Westopher is correct.
The story was updated last I checked that it was whitlocks Mother. Now I've said it before, and I will say it again. Animal abuse needs to be taken much more seriously. Why wasn't he given proper psychiatric assessments after a violent crime against an animal? Why were such obvious signs of violent behaviour ignored. Its quite a fucked up situation, but the biggest example of an "I told you so" moment I've seen in years.
I think we need to to take human abuse more seriously first.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
Someone who tortures and kills a human will likely get a life sentence, 25 years without parole eligibility. Someone who tortures and kills an animal will likely get probation. I'd say one is a little more drastically below the line than the other, but I agree, Canada should be much tougher on violence of any kind. I think you are missing the point that this murder could have been avoided if the original crime was treated appropriately.
__________________
98 technoviolet M3/2/5
Quote:
Originally Posted by boostfever
Westopher is correct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fsy82
seems like you got a dick up your ass well..get that checked
Quote:
Originally Posted by punkwax
Well.. I’d hate to be the first to say it, but Westopher is correct.
Someone who tortures and kills a human will likely get a life sentence, 25 years without parole eligibility. Someone who tortures and kills an animal will likely get probation. I'd say one is a little more drastically below the line than the other, but I agree, Canada should be much tougher on violence of any kind.
Someone punches or kicks a dog people go ape sh/t. Someone punches a human people yell worldstar.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
I fail to see how my interest in animal welfare correlates to a lack of interest in human welfare.
Because a person abusing a human is more likely to kill a human then a person abusing an animal. So tax payers money is better spent on people abusing other people.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
I obviously shake my head at the news, and I have to say I don't know anything about the dog abuse this person has 2 years ago. But I am guessing from the above news report that at the time of the dog abuse, Brian Whitlock played the mental health / insanity card as part of his guilty plead. From various court cases that makes it into the news, it seems like the resulting penalty from the verdict is significantly lighter.
I agree that animal abuse / cruelty cases need to be followed / monitored more closely because they could very well be early indicators of something a lot more serious. Unfortunately, with the government budgets that we are working with, it doesn't look like there is enough to hire qualified people (social workers / counsellors in this case, perhaps?) to follow up.
In this particular case, I would also argue that more mental health support might have been able to prevent the tragic incident from happening. But again, our government has simply decided to not spend money on this kind of thing.
Because a person abusing a human is more likely to kill a human then a person abusing an animal. So tax payers money is better spent on people abusing other people.
Although I am a dog lover/owner myself, I have to agree.
That logic doesn't make sense. Tougher laws against animal abuse and focus on it doesn't mean there has to be less strict laws and attention for human on human violence.
__________________
98 technoviolet M3/2/5
Quote:
Originally Posted by boostfever
Westopher is correct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fsy82
seems like you got a dick up your ass well..get that checked
Quote:
Originally Posted by punkwax
Well.. I’d hate to be the first to say it, but Westopher is correct.
I would like to see data correlating animal abuse to a higher likelihood of human abuse. Not that I like to beat animals, but they have very different roles in different cultures, and the title seems to imply that there is a direct relationship
__________________
I searched for truth, and all I found was You
Human abuse is common... but animal abuse is typically the symptom of a serious mental health issue.
Not to mention that there's a lot of humans that deserve to get abused.
1. No one deserves to be abused.
2. Maybe human abuse seems more common because it's easier to report. Also the stuff we are legally allowed to do to animals would land us with serious jail time if we did it to a human.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
I would like to see data correlating animal abuse to a higher likelihood of human abuse. Not that I like to beat animals, but they have very different roles in different cultures, and the title seems to imply that there is a direct relationship
In this instance, there was a direct relationship. The point I'm trying to make is, that if the original EXTREMELY violent act on an animal was taken more seriously, psychiatric assessments would have followed in a much more in depth manor. This individuals behaviour would have shown a pattern, and this MAY have been preventable. This person clearly needed to be medicated at the very least for their schizophrenia, and was clearly a candidate for full time institutionalization and supervision. The fact is this person was a danger to anybody and everybody and was left to just "see what happens."
__________________
98 technoviolet M3/2/5
Quote:
Originally Posted by boostfever
Westopher is correct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fsy82
seems like you got a dick up your ass well..get that checked
Quote:
Originally Posted by punkwax
Well.. I’d hate to be the first to say it, but Westopher is correct.
This is only one link, and obviously there is tons of information out there, but its something worth reading.
Quote:
A number of studies have drawn links between the abuse of animals and violence against people. A 2001-2004 study by the Chicago Police Department "revealed a startling propensity for offenders charged with crimes against animals to commit other violent offenses toward human victims." Of those arrested for animal crimes, 65% had been arrested for battery against another person.[i]
Of 36 convicted multiple murderers questioned in one study, 46% admitted committing acts of animal torture as adolescents.[ii] And of seven school shootings that took place across the country between 1997 and 2001, all involved boys who had previously committed acts of animal cruelty.
Though on the extreme side, I dont know how many serial killers i've read about where it all started with them dismembering/torturing animals.. I agree that we need to treat animal cruelty much harsher and to follow up with these kind of incidents.
I would like to see data correlating animal abuse to a higher likelihood of human abuse. Not that I like to beat animals, but they have very different roles in different cultures, and the title seems to imply that there is a direct relationship
there is research and data to show the correlation. one of the top 3 traits of a psychopath is that
1. abuse of animal especially at a young age
2. Pyromaniac (like to set stuff on fire)
3. bed wetting that last way pass acceptable age
do all animal abuser end up as human abuser? of course not. but 99% of serial murderers, psychopaths (those that murder for psychological needs rather than heat of the moment) started their "career" by torturing or killing animals at a young age.
having said that. these so call psychopath accords for less than 10% of all murders committed. of course that only counting those that successfully kill someone and get recorded by the criminal justice system.
I would like to see data correlating animal abuse to a higher likelihood of human abuse. Not that I like to beat animals, but they have very different roles in different cultures, and the title seems to imply that there is a direct relationship
Also pick any sociopath/serial killer and they most likely abused animals when they were kids. I know for sure that was the case with the "screwdriver" kid in russia.
The story was updated last I checked that it was whitlocks Mother. Now I've said it before, and I will say it again. Animal abuse needs to be taken much more seriously. Why wasn't he given proper psychiatric assessments after a violent crime against an animal? Why were such obvious signs of violent behaviour ignored. Its quite a fucked up situation, but the biggest example of an "I told you so" moment I've seen in years.
Quote:
[33] I have the benefit of several reports from professionals who have assessed the state of Mr. Whitlock's mental health. There is little doubt that he suffers from a mental disorder. There are numerous reports that his mental health has destabilized even further over the past year. He is now taking medication for his disorder. In a very comprehensive report, assessing his risk for future violence, Dr. Lohrasbe, who is a highly respected forensic psychiatrist who deals with violent offenders and has done for many dozens of years, has rated Mr. Whitlock's risk for future violence as relatively low if he attends to and deals with his mental disorder in a responsible and appropriate fashion. I accept that assessment.
[34] Dr. Riley, who also performed an assessment, was unable to conduct a risk assessment for various reasons, but did find on page 8 of his report that [as read in]:
It seems more likely than not that Mr. Whitlock has experienced psychotic symptoms in the past and particularly between June and August of 2012
looks like he was given multiple psychiatric assessments. also, i dont think his violent behavior was ignored, simply taken into context within the entirety of events.
If you abuse a small helpless animal you clearly have mental issues.
Mental issues are often the causes of murders.
I can see the relation of how someone as a small child would abuse animals and continue the trend later on in life.
Incredibly sad to see this kind of thing happen. I'm curious what help he received after the whole dog in dumpster issue. Was he treated for anything?