Bad Cops Raid “Bad Cop No Donut” Radio Show

Having nothing better to do at 3:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning, Toronto, Ont., police, long fed up with local radio show Bad Cop No Donut, which covers police misconduct in the U.S. and Canada, found a ready-made excuse to raid the college radio station where the show is produced: It was airing sections of the Lester Eugene Siler torture tape along with an interview with the Knoxville journalist who covered the story. (Listen to the May 25 broadcast.)

If you’ll recall, five Campbell County, Tenn., police officers tortured Siler for two hours, and only were caught because his wife had started a concealed tape recorder. All five are now serving prison sentences.

Toronto police would excuse the raid by saying that someone had called 911 during the broadcast thinking that someone was actually being tortured there at CKLN, a Ryerson University college radio station.

Host Ron Anicich talked to pirate radio station Free Radio Santa Cruz on Tuesday about the incident. (Listen to Ron Anicich interview with FRSC.)

Anicich said he preprogrammed the radio show and went home sick, so when police showed up to raid the place, he wasn’t actually there. It was several days later before he even found out that the station had been raided. And he doubts the official police story for several reasons:

  • The Toronto police refuse to release the alleged 911 tape.
  • The alleged 911 caller would have to have been extremely stupid, because “all the four letter words were beeped out” of the broadcast, all of the people on the recording had “thick Tennessee accents,” and his voice came on at the end of the broadcast introducing the next show.
  • The police response didn’t correspond to the normal police response to a hostage situation: to send police, fire and ambulance services. Instead, only police showed up. And security let them right in to the building.

Anicich says he has a long history of exposing abuse by the Toronto police, which he says are as bad as any in North America, and he believes that’s why he was raided. “They have tried to shut me down before, very publicly and openly,” he said. And he complained that CKLN waited several days to even tell him about the raid, and that CKLN is not cooperating with his attempts to find out what really happened.

He said the raid spooked him and he’s actually changing the format of his show, at least temporarily, because of it. “Right now, I’m feeling pretty unsafe,” he said.

Now this sort of thing could never happen here, could it?

Update: I just got the following email response from Ron Anicich.

I’m not going to be scared until I know for sure what has happened. Details are still sketchy. So far CKLN has not been able to view their own security video. Frustrating! We are not quite sure how many cops were there, how heavily armed, how long they stayed, did they look through our files or not. Too many questions, not enough answers.

More to come on this story, I’m sure.

posted Jun 1st, 2006 by error
  • Jody

    Toronto police have always been known as scum bags, I prefer to call them the filth. I have no respect for a member of the Toronto PD nor for any member of the corrupt OPP, most of whom need to be put into space without access to oxygen.

  • Devious David

    He’s shutting up. Looks like the raid was a success.

  • error

    And now you understand why I keep my personal information as private as possible, even down to not letting my hosting providers know where I live. (It’s a slightly more complicated trick to not let your BANK know where you live, but it can be done.) Homeland Security is paying someone an exorbitant amount of money to read every word I write, and I never know when one of those words is going to finally piss them off.

  • ianbernard

    Michael, if they really want to find you, they will. I understand security, but be aware (and I’m sure you are) that there’s always someone who can be more dedicated than your security.

  • ianbernard

    I’ve contacted Ron to get him on FTL to tell his story.

  • ianbernard

    Hmm.. maybe I didn’t contact Ron. His email is failing, and I don’t see his show listed on CKLN’s schedule!

  • error

    Ian, I’m sure they can find me if they put a LOT of effort into it. My job is to only be hard enough to find that it would cost them too much money to do it.

    I also sent you Ron’s email address.

  • ianbernard

    Oops, transposed the l and k.

    Still doesn’t explain why his show is not on their schedule.

  • ianbernard

    This is similar to what Ron was playing on air:
    http://freetalklive.com/files/protectandserve.mp3
    (12 min version of Siler beating audio)

  • error

    Odd, I never look at their schedule, since not living in Toronto, I listen to this particular radio show on podcast.

    On CKLN, Bad Cop No Donut airs during and as part of the “The Bitter End” show Thursdays from 2am-6am. Which means it’s on the air right now.

  • blowmedown

    No surprise here, except perhaps that it took so long. After all, North of the border, the Gang With The Badges is also the gang with the only guns, and has been for some time. This “show” (no, NOT BCND, the other show) is coming soon to a US city, town or hamlet near you…

    Did the Tiny Tasty Smoked Tuna Bits get here yet?

    -BM

  • Tim

    Ontario police deny all “sensative” Freedom of Information requests as a matter of course. Ron needs to appeal to the Ontario Information and Privacy commissioner to get the tape. The Commissioner, unlike the police FOI officer, has no political agenda.

  • Robin

    Bad Cops No Donut needs to be taken off the air for good!! Our officers risk their lives daily to protect us, and Ron wants to protect the criminal. Officers endure situations where they risk their lives and sometimes have to take measures to protect themselves and others, sometimes it can be brutal when they encounter someone that wants to evade or fight their arrest, and the officer needs to do what it takes to detain the offender. If you want to avoid these problems with the law, then obey it!

    Not every comment gets posted on this radio show, which is not right. This show is here to show all cops as bad. I have posted for the defense of an officer and my comments have not been posted. Ron only allows comments that slander these officers.

    Remove Ron and Bad Cops No Donuts-it’s a disgrace!

  • andrew

    keep ur head up ron people always support the truth and will never stop and what is in darkness always ALWAYS comes to light! keep up the good work