• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

INTERIM REPORT A COLLECTIVE IMPACT Interim report on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service INTERIM REPORT A COLLECTIVE IMPACT Interim report on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service Ontario Human Rights Commission ISBN: 978-1-4868-2996-5 (Print) 978-1-4868-2997-2 (HTML) 978-1-4868-2998-9 (PDF) © November 2018, Government of Ontario Available in various formats on request Also available online: www.ohrc.on.ca Disponible en français A collective impact Contents Executive summary ................................................................................................................ 3 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 6 II. Background and context ................................................................................................... 7 a) The OHRC’s work on racism in policing ................................................................................... 7 b) Toronto’s Black population ........................................................................................................ 9 c) Recent concerns about anti-Black racism in policing in Toronto ......................................... 9 d) Policing and police oversight in Toronto .............................................................................. 10 Toronto Police Service and Chief of Police ........................................................................... 10 Toronto Police Services Board ................................................................................................ 11 The City of Toronto ................................................................................................................... 11 The Special Investigations Unit ............................................................................................... 12 The Office of the Independent Police Review Director ....................................................... 13 Independent Police Oversight Review and the Safer Ontario Act....................................... 13 III. Progress of the inquiry ................................................................................................... 15 a) Outreach to Black communities in Toronto ......................................................................... 16 b) Documents and data requested from the TPS, TPSB and SIU .......................................... 16 TPS .............................................................................................................................................. 16 TPSB ............................................................................................................................................ 17 SIU ............................................................................................................................................... 17 IV. Findings ............................................................................................................................ 17 a) Review of SIU case information involving the TPS .............................................................. 17 1. Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 17 2. Wortley Report findings ....................................................................................................... 19 3. SIU Director’s Reports .......................................................................................................... 21 b) OHRC engagement with Black communities and review of decisions ............................. 25 1. Unnecessary stops, questioning and searches ................................................................ 26 2. Excessive force ...................................................................................................................... 30 3. Unnecessary charges ........................................................................................................... 33 4. Impact .................................................................................................................................... 35 V. Areas of concern ............................................................................................................... 37 A collective impact VI. Interim actions ................................................................................................................ 39 VII. Next steps ....................................................................................................................... 39 Appendix A: Timeline ........................................................................................................... 41 Racial discrimination and racial profiling of Black persons by the TPS, and OHRC initiatives related to the Toronto Police .................................................................................... 41 Appendix B: Terms of reference ......................................................................................... 52 OHRC inquiry into racial discrimination and racial profiling of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service ................................................................................................................. 52 Appendix C: Inquiry letters ................................................................................................. 55 Appendix D: Status of OHRC requests ............................................................................... 70 SIU ................................................................................................................................................... 70 TPSB ................................................................................................................................................ 70 TPS .................................................................................................................................................. 71 Appendix E: Wortley Report ................................................................................................ 77 ___________________________________________ Ontario Human Rights Commission 2 A collective impact Executive summary Between 2013 and 2017, a Black person in Toronto was nearly 20 times more likely than a White person to be involved in a fatal shooting by the Toronto Police Service (TPS). Despite making up only 8.8% of Toronto’s population, data obtained by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) shows that Black people were over-represented in use of force cases (28.8%), shootings (36%), deadly encounters (61.5%) and fatal shootings (70%). Black men make up 4.1% of Toronto’s population, yet were complainants in a quarter of SIU cases alleging sexual assault by TPS officers. SIU Director’s Reports reveal a lack of legal basis for police stopping or detaining Black civilians in the first place; inappropriate or unjustified searches during encounters; and unnecessary charges or arrests. The information analyzed by the OHRC also raises broader concerns about officer misconduct, transparency and accountability. Courts and arms- length oversight bodies have found that TPS officers have sometimes provided biased and untrustworthy testimony, have inappropriately tried to stop the recording of incidents and/or have failed to cooperate with the SIU. The OHRC spoke directly to approximately 130 individuals in Black communities. It heard first-hand about their experiences with the TPS and the resulting fear, trauma, humiliation, mistrust and expectations of negative treatment by police. Even where individuals did not have first-hand experiences, high profile incidents or experiences of friends and family reinforced community distrust. For example, one individual observed: The Dafonte Miller matter affects everyone in the community because it was so egregious and it was hidden and was allowed to be hidden for so long until someone else brought it forward… [it] is a collective experience…someone in your family has experienced some sort of trauma with the police – so it always brings you back to that event… it’s a collective impact… Last year, the OHRC launched its inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the TPS to help build trust between the police and Black communities. The goal of the inquiry was to pinpoint problem areas and make recommendations. This Interim Report describes what the OHRC has done to date. It provides findings relating to SIU investigations of police use of force resulting in serious injury or death, describes the lived experiences of Black individuals, and offers highlights of legal decisions. The Interim Report findings go some way towards explaining why trust between the TPS and Black communities remains fractured, despite decades of protests, reports, recommendations and commitments related to anti-Black racism. It confirms the long- standing concern of Black communities that they are over-represented in incidents of serious injury and deadly force involving the TPS. It demonstrates that the more serious the police conduct and lethal the outcome, the greater the over-representation. It reveals ___________________________________________ Ontario Human Rights Commission 3 A collective impact serious use of force in interactions where there

Load more

  137

Copy Link