Canadian Broadcast Regulator Rules on Airing Dying Police Officer's Words

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(Credit: CBSC.ca, screenshot)

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) ruled that Canadian TV stations like Global Toronto and CTV Toronto didn’t “violate the privacy” of Canadian police officer Garrett Styles in airing his dying words last summer, the Toronto Star reported.

We wrote in October of last year when print regulator, the Ontario Press Council, found that newspapers the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail didn’t violate its ethics code in reporting from the transcript of Styles’ call.

According to the Toronto Star’s report on the CBSC ruling, the CBSC investigated after a complaint by York Police Chief Eric Joliffe.  Styles worked for York Regional Police.  Joliffe also initiated the complaints about the print coverage last year, as we wrote.

The CBSC did criticize City TV and CTV because they didn’t “warn viewers in advance of the disturbing nature of the broadcasts.”

According to the Toronto Star, the police aren’t satisfied with the CBSC ruling because it found the broadcasts to be uncompassionate and in violation of the RTDNA ethics code.

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Canadian Broadcast Regulator Rules on Airing Dying Police Officer’s Words

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