ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — William Lorimer wants to be the member of Parliament for St. John’s East.
He has a doctorate in computer science, the field he’s worked in for 25 years. He’s written letters to the editor of The Telegram, speaking about cyber security and privacy in online spaces. He has experience in the political realm: in 2015, he worked with Conservative Party of Canada candidate Marek Krol in St. John’s South-Mount Pearl.
Lorimer will represent Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada in the 2019 federal election.
He co-founded a website in 2014 seeking to debunk “myths” associated with police brutality and racism.
MythofPoliceBrutality.com was active from 2014 to 2018, with a focus on an American audience. The website is inactive right now, but pages available through internet archives show some familiar headlines.
The most recent snapshot shows a post from Nov. 7, 2016 – the day before the most recent U.S. presidential election – and a headline that reads, “Why Hilary’s Emails Are Such A Big Deal.” Another post from Sept. 10, 2016 is headlined, “Anti-police bias in mainstream media – a case study.” From July 28, 2016: “No, Anthony Morgan. Canada does NOT need ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Neither do the States.”
The archive only shows the headline and does not allow access to the actual article, to allow for more context.
Lorimer says he created the website to study and understand what happens when police use lethal force.
“The bottom line is we need the police. They’re vital to civilized society. They have a very difficult job and they often have to make split-second decisions with very little info,” Lorimer said in a telephone interview with The Telegram.
“I look at the video and I go, what’s going on here, what happened? Why did the police officer react this way? Sometimes I’ll slow the video down and I’ll go right through it frame by frame. Most people don’t do that.”
Lorimer points to the case of Michael Brown, who was shot six times and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Brown, an 18-year-old African-American, had stolen a box of cigars when police officer Darren Wilson confronted him and his friend, Dorian Johnson. After an initial interaction when Brown tried to reach for the officer’s gun, Brown and Johnson ran away from the police car. The officer alleges Brown charged, while Johnson testified Brown had his hands up. Brown was shot six times while facing Wilson and was killed.
Ultimately, no charges were laid in the incident, as forensic evidence and a grand jury supported the police officer’s account of the incident.
Lorimer says the incident is neither a sign of police brutality or racism.
“The accusation was both that he as a victim of racism and a victim of police brutality. It turns out neither seems to be true. There’s no evidence to support that. If those are the best examples they can come up with, then I really have to question whether they have evidence to support the claim or not,” said Lorimer.
“Their viewpoint is that there’s an epidemic almost of innocent blacks, unarmed, being shot for no reason by the police. I looked at that and I just don’t see the evidence to back it up.”
In 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that 31 per cent of those killed by police in the U.S. were African-American, though they make up 13 per cent of the population.
Lorimer will face Liberal Nick Whalen in the district. Former NDP MP Jack Harris has announced his intent to seek the NDP nomination in this district, while St. John’s Coun. Debbie Hanlon is exploring a bid for the Conservative Party of Canada.
People’s Party down a person
Elsewhere, the People’s Party of Canada is looking for a new candidate in Avalon.
Darryl Kenney was the candidate for the district, until at least Tuesday, when his campaign manager told The Telegram he had pulled his name out of the running “after a long talk.” Kenney was not available for comment, but the spokesperson says the resignation is “due to discriminatory remarks made by some people.”
Multiple requests for a formal reply from the People’s Party of Canada were not returned by deadline.
A fundraiser is set for June 20 at the Woodstock Colonial Inn for the People’s Party of Canada.
Hasan Hai is the founder of Project Kindness and the MerB’ys, and most recently served as the Liberal candidate in Mount Pearl-Southlands.
He noticed a post by Kenney in the event, where Kenney asked for support so he could, “Make Newfoundland (& Canada) Great Again.”
Hai, along with other commenters, soon found other posts from Kenney they found objectionable. One of the posts called for “no more immigration from countries who refuse to assimilate, no more putting illegals before war veterans, homeless, and seniors, and no more taxpayer money going to support terrorists.”
Hai says he contacted the Woodstock Colonial Inn to make them aware of some of the statements made by Kenney and let the business decide if it wanted to host the fundraiser.
“Drawing on that same sort of language of the far right and Trumpism, it got my back up. It’s his right to say his words, there’s nothing illegal about the statement he made, but it’s problematic,” said Hai.
“It’s dangerous to people who are in (marginalized) groups. That’s me. Myself and my children are directly impacted and endangered by language like that because it attracts – and I’m not suggesting that Mr. Kenney or Mr. Bernier are in any way violent – but their language attracts people who are.”
During the election campaign, Hai was visited by the leader of the local Yellow Vest organization, who has accused Hai of being racist. The man, Kenny Winsor, did not leave Hai’s campaign headquarters until police were called.
Lorimer says Kenney was not the problem throughout the exchange.
“The problem is not anything to do with Darryl Kenney. I’ve looked at what he posted, I’ve looked at what Hasan Hai has said and what they have branded as racist. It may be controversial, but controversial is not necessarily racist. Controversial is good. It’s back to the issue of free speech,” said Lorimer.
“They’re trying to bring pressure on the Woodstock Colonial restaurant. They don’t think that we should be allowed to run. They don’t think the people should have the right to vote for us. They have decided that what we’re saying is not what they consider acceptable. That’s not their business.”
The fundraiser is still going ahead, as of deadline.
Hai says he has a guess about why he appears to be a lightning rod for those adopting far right language in local politics.
“I’m a visible minority. I have brown skin. But I think the bigger thing is that I have a voice, a reach,” he said.
“That’s a threat to people who don’t want their actions and opinions broadly broadcast. Here’s the irony. It’s not like I hired a private investigator and dug up secret information. It’s literally publicly available information.”
[email protected]
Twitter: DavidMaherNL
