Investigations into a November incident where Edmonton cops targeted Edmonton Sun journalist Kerry Diotte, a prominent camera critic as well as an investigation of police impropriety in contract negotiations with ACS is stalled. Last year, two undercover police had staked out a gathering of Canadian journalists at a local bar. One reporter listening to police scanners heard Diotte referred to as "Target 1 or T1".

Incredibly, the police issued a statement claiming that a tip was received to the effect that an intoxicated man was about to leave a downtown restaurant and attempt to drive home.

Diotte took a cab. Could it be that police weren't just looking for an intoxicated man, but the author of these words in a column last year:

"Shouldn't the City of Edmonton's traffic department gather such information, examine it and come up with ways to make streets safer? Or shouldn't the EPS do it? Maybe the cops are already too busy keeping track of all the loot they are pulling in by their heavy-handed use of ineffective photo-radar and red-light cameras."

The body that oversees city cops wants to know why it's taking so long to wrap up three controversial investigations into officers' behaviour. "The commission is very, very concerned with the length of time of these investigations," Edmonton Police Commission executive director John Acheson said yesterday.