E/CN.4/1997/71 page 27 3. Under the guise of the 'war on drugs' and the 'war on gangs', loved ones, family members, neighbours and community residents were made to endure racist slurs and taunts, improperly served warrants, illegal 'warning' shots and unnecessary invasions of their privacy. 4. Testimony supported the conclusion that police continue to be viewed as an 'army of occupation' in many communities of colour. 5. Evidence indicates that when victims or witnesses attempted to press their claims, police officials denied them access to information that would support their claims, creating a 'wall of silence'. 6. Active-duty police officers, both men and women, also testified that when they challenged police misconduct, they were met with the 'code of silence', which includes the practice of shunning and other forms of harassment. 7. Some of the other forms of harassment described by these police witnesses included attempts to undermine their morale, effectiveness and credibility, including sending them dead animal parts and shouting degrading obscenities at them in public. 8. Testimony by police officers indicated that gender is an added dimension of vulnerability to police abuse. 9. The evidence suggests that people with some mental history may be particularly vulnerable to police abuse. 10. Evidence suggests that police use restraining devices in inappropriate ways, subjecting people to torture. Witnesses testified to excessive use of pepper spray after the victim posed no threat to police officers. Persons were shackled by their legs and forced to walk, in a method known as 'hobbling'. We heard about the use of 'hog-tying', in which arms and feet are bound together behind one's back. Witnesses provide evidence of persons shackled in cells so that they hung from their hands. 11. Most witnesses testified that they attempted to develop systemic responses to police violence, such as community police review boards, and were met by concerted opposition from police officials and police unions. This included responses such as open hostility, attempts to discredit, lies, threats, other forms of intimidation and sophisticated forms of political lobbying.” 91. No reply to these allegations has been received.