Community News
There seems to be a move towards a more: aggressive, bigger, more bloated, less accountable, more violent Police Force in Toronto
BY PAUL JUNOR
There has been attention that has focused on the role of Councillor James Pasternak and newly appointed Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw in recent weeks.
Councillor Pasternak was first elected to Toronto City Council in 2010 and subsequently in 2014 and 2018 for Ward 6 York Centre. This ward extends from Highway 401 to the north, Don River W Branch, Bathurst, Jane and Keele Streets. Prior to being elected as a Councillor, he was elected trustee for the Toronto District School Board.
He hosted a Community Safety Town Hall meeting on Sunday, March 5th, 2023, at the Downsview Hub. Member of Provincial Parliament Michael Kerner as well as TPS’s Chief Myron Demkiw joined him. In a post on Facebook, Councillor Pasternak notes, “Keeping our communities safe also means addressing the root causes of violence and offering support to impacted individuals and families.”
Myron Demkiw was appointed as Chief of the Toronto Police Services on December 19th, 2022. He served as acting Deputy Chief since 2020, and according to an article in the Toronto Star on December 19th, he vowed to, “Repair, earn and maintain,” public trust.
Members of the LGBTQ community expressed opposition to the appointment of Myron Demkiw because of his involvement in the 2000 bathhouse raid which significantly damaged the relationship with the affected community. Chief Demkiw was one of five male officers who participated in the raid on the Pussy Palace, which was hosting a sex-positive event for queer women and trans people. The raid was ruled to be a violation of the civil liberties of the individuals and the TPS was asked to pay $350,000 to the complainants and recruit police officers from the LGBT community.
Chief Demkiw expressed apology to those that were harmed by the raid, and will publicly apologize in the future after hearing first-hand from those who were directly impacted. He states,”
I am absolutely prepared to make an unreserved apology, but now the time is for me to listen and understand what that apology should be. I need to be informed through my engagement and discussion with the communities that have been impacted. I recognize and acknowledge that there continues to be trauma and concern and an expression of anxiety about my appointment. I definitely understand that.”
On February 15th, 2023 for the online magazine, “Yes, Everything” an article revealed the individuals who were affected by the bathhouse raid. Chanelle Gran: feminist organizer, writer and activist is concerned about the message that the appointment of Myron Demkiw as Chief of TPS sends to the wider community about the normalization of violence and increase of police violence.
In a phone interview with, “Yes, Everything” she states, “We were concerned that his appointment signalled a move towards a more: aggressive, bigger, more bloated, less accountable, more violent police force that was going to suck up more city resources, and that’s exactly what happened.”
One of the issues raised in the article was the promotion of constable Rick to be in charge of the Professional Standards Unit at the TPS. This unit investigates officers who seriously injure or shoot civilians. Officer Shank killed Ian Clifford Coley, a 20-year Black man in April of 1993, and along with another officer, Hugh Dawson in March of 1997. Shank was not charged by the SIU in the death of Coley and was cleared by a jury in 1999 of manslaughter against Dawson. The article notes that there were allegations of: assault, home invasion, kidnapping, the planting of evidence, the filing of bogus charges and arbitrary detention against Shank.
The Toronto Police Accountability Coalition commented on Shank’s appointment on June 22nd, 2022. It notes, “Police might talk a good line about stopping racism, but as the appointment of Shank reveals, in real life that talk means nothing. It also sends a very strong message to the Black community about how they should fear interaction with Toronto police.”