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To Serve and Protect?

In research done for current and future articles The Toronto Tribune spoke with women who were victims of domestic violence. Surprisingly when discussing the help provided by Toronto Police Services the answer was less than none. There wasn't a single decent word said about the Toronto Police. There was an abundance of praise for other police forces in Ontario and across Canada. Regarding the Toronto Police examples of the comment made were, "if you're lucky, the Toronto cops will only arrest you for bothering them," and, "Don't call the Toronto police unless you feel like spending the night in jail." An adage came up repeatedly, that whoever calls the Toronto Police gets arrested. The Toronto Tribune did not plan to use this information or these quotes. It was apparent much but not all of the information was dated. Though learning that when a woman finds it within herself to reach out for help to escape an abusive situation it is cruel that instead of help she had a jail door slammed in her face. The women weren't served. The women weren't protected.

The impetus for this article and using something we'd discovered but weren't prepared to use until now took place in June, when their experience with the Toronto Police happened to me. Everything they said was exactly what I experienced, except I wasn't arrested but a threat was made.

To Insult and Ignore

Coming home one afternoon I noticed a man using the Intercom to enter the building. He wasn't getting through and he tried several different units. As I unlocked the security door I turned back and told him, very politely, that I didn't let strangers into the building. He told me he lived there and showed me a key ring. It lacked the security key. I pointed that out and he said he was there to watch DVDs with his friend. He had his foot against the door and refused when asked to remove it. Suddenly without warning he body checked me. As the readers of IAT are aware from my editor's notes, I have cancer and at the time was about 1/2 way through my chemotherapy. I was surprised he didn't floor me. I wasn't aware but he must have been grabbing my arms, loss of sensitivity in the hands and feet is a side affect of chemo. The next morning both my forearms bore bruises that looked like fingerprints. I called 911 and said I was being assaulted entering into my building. The assailant began to call and scream for his friend. A man came running down the hall yelling he's my friend. Since he took responsibility for the man I let him bypass me and enter the building. I terminated the 911 call. In many ways I was very lucky but to jump to violent anger that fast over something as insignificant as waiting for a friend moreover for hearing 'no' to a request suggests the assailant didn't commit his first act of violence against women that day.

As I waited at the elevator I noticed the way these two men walked given the layout there destination was obvious to me. To their credit 911 called me back to see if I was safe. I told the 911 operator the incident was over. He asked if I wanted to report it. I responded 'why bother?'. I changed my mind deciding perhaps what I had heard about the Toronto Police and their response to victims of violence was incorrect.

Approximately 30 minutes later two 51 Division Officers arrived at my door. I immediately identified myself as a member of the media and requested badge and division numbers. That was the first indication things weren't going to go well. It was like pulling teeth to get this information which the Police are required to provide when asked.

One officer did almost all of the talking. After I told them what happened his response was to blame me, the victim. He came up with multiple excuses for the assailant's behavior for example, even after hearing I'd been shown the man's keys that didn't have the security key, this officer's idea was perhaps the man had lost his keys.

Title; To Serve and Protect found on the side of Toronto Police Cars
Photograph: The Toronto Tribune

The 51 Division Officer accused me of committing assault. He was aware of my cancer battle when he made this accusation. Repeatedly throughout our conversation he said, "I'm not searching every apartment in this building."

It was obvious to both of us this was going nowhere. The Officer told me I'd have to go to City Hall and file. I interrupted him, thinking file against who John Doe? The assailant was a stranger the only things I knew about him was he was in my building and he was violent. One goal of calling the police was having a violent man removed from the building. I provided directions to the correct apartment, later confirmed with the Property Management of my building, so this Officer only had to knock on one door. Whenever I said as much I heard the refrain, "I'm not searching every apartment in this building."

I said interrupting the Officer, "I have a better idea. I'll write to Bill Blair and ask when the Toronto Police will take women's safety seriously." The Officer snapped open his notebook and angrily said, "Now I have to take a report." He then asked me what I first said to the man. I replied. He repeated his question. I replied. He repeated the exact same question three times, making it five times in a row. I pointed this out and offered to tape this to help him. He forcefully said, "That's illegal."

It is not illegal to tape oneself. Nor is it illegal for the media to use recording devices, freedom of the press and freedom of the media are guaranteed in Section 2B of the Canadian Charter of Rights. The officer would have walked out with the tape if he hadn't issued a threat. The up to this point silent officer asked a few questions, ones I had already answered several times for his partner. The only difference were those questions, though repeated, weren't asked in a row.

The two officers left with one final rendition of the chorus, "I'm not searching every apartment in this building." I wasn't served. I wasn't protected. I was true to my word. A few days later I faxed a letter of complaint to Police Chief Bill Blair and Mayor David Miller.

The complaints process against the Toronto Police is cumbersome to say the least. The Blair fax was sent on June 23 at 17:07. The first response I received was a letter dated July 24. The first sentence said my fax, sent June 23, was received on July 16th. Faxes are usually received the day they are sent anywhere else in Toronto sans 40 College Street. Self-regulation means that the individual assigned to investigate works at 51 Division. An air of independence would be reassuring.

As much as I raised the issue of the behavior of two officers my concerns in my letter were about the treatment victims of violence receive. I didn't ask for the two officers to be investigated. The Toronto Police Services did that. What they didn't do, to my knowledge, was meet my request not to overlook the appropriate actions of the 911 Operator. That call back was appreciated. I did meet with the Investigator twice, the second time I dropped the complaint against these two but made it clear from our first telephone contact I'd decided to write an article about the experience. I had brought their behavior before their boss and planned to take it public via The Toronto Tribune. More action seemed punitive. But for their behavior this article wouldn't be necessary.

The Toronto Tribune has decided not to name these two officers from 51 Division though we do have their names. It seems unfair to single them out in this article about 5 officers and their behavior. We will however name the two men ultimately responsible for the important issue raised, the way some police officers behave towards victims of violence. That is of far greater concern and it was put to Police Chief Bill Blair and Mayor David Miller with two questions in the letter dated June 23, 2007.

• Is this the way a rape victim would be treated by the Toronto Police?
• Repeatedly asking the exact same question over and over again
• Accusing the victim of assaulting her attacker
• Providing numerous excuses to justify the assailant’s conduct?
• When, if ever, will the Toronto Police serve and protect the women of Toronto?

To date, over 3 months later, neither Police Chief Bill Blair nor Mayor David Miller have responded to these questions. Blair and his staff choose to investigate the two officers involved in my minor incident until I stopped it. Neither Blair nor Miller have addressed the major issues. The Toronto Tribune contacted Toronto Police Services to discuss this article.

Toronto Police Services' Reply

Mark Pugash, Director of Public Information for Toronto Police Services  said, "that doesn't strike me as indicative of the responses we get. I get here emails from people on a regular basis who say 'I called police and I was in a difficult situation I want to thank you for the excellent response we had from the Toronto Police'. Is every case going to be up to the standards that we want, no it's not but the consistent feedback that I get, and I think it's probably fair to say that people that are unhappy are much more likely to make to make those views known than people that are happy. We do get a significant number of emails and messages from people that say precisely that. 'We were victims of a burglary and the officers arrived right away and they dealt with in exactly the way they should'. The only conclusion that I can come to is that the message that you're getting, while anything that doesn't match the standards we want is not acceptable, to suggest that that represents the majority of the victims of crime does not accord with the message that I get." The days of the appalling Toronto Police reaction to victims of violence exposed in the Jane Doe case are supposed to be long gone. They weren't in June of 2007.

Pugash added, "If there are people that are unhappy we would encourage them to come forward because if there are people that aren't doing there job in the way they should then we certainly want to know about that. I think the fact that you've come forward is certainly a good thing. If there is a problem one of the ways that we find out is that people will come forward and tell us. That does not correspond with the overwhelming feedback that I get but that in no way is a justification for people that may not be doing the job the way they should."

In July 2006 Statistics Canada published "Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile". It noted that 81% of spousal violence offenders were reported to the police once. That's it one time. The Toronto Police have complained that members of some communities will not talk to them when they witness crimes. Is any of this interrelated? If you have a bad experience when asking the police for help are you likely to ask the police again? I can answer that question from my own experience.

Not that long ago coming home I closed the security door just ahead of a man. He called out and I turned back. He demanded to be let in announcing he lived there. I told him to use his keys. He said a friend had them. I said call your friend and turned away. He began pounding on the security door. I pointed out if he lived there he knew why I couldn't let him in. (Allowing strangers into the building is grounds for eviction in a co-op and the co-op member is responsible for their guest's behavior.). His pounding on the door began again in earnest. It was actually frightening. I thought he'd break the glass. He didn't, not that he didn't try. He was more frightening than the first fellow. Calling the police for help wasn't a consideration. I didn't expect to be served. I didn't expect to be protected.

Subsequent to my letter to Blair & Miller I learned of a similar case that took place over a year ago. A man was assaulted and robbed after refusing a request for spare change. He was accused of provoking the attack by the two 51 Division officers that responded to his call and described a response very similar to my own experience. He wasn't served. He wasn't protected.

This is not to suggest that all officers at 51 Division behave in this manner. In my visits regarding this complaint I met officers that did walk the talk.

The Angry 51 Division Officer

Once while waiting to meet with the Inspector I witnessed an officer being very courteous while dealing with the public. During my wait I had my reporter's notebook out so that may have provided some impetus. He was ultra polite. While I was making notes for an interview I had later that day my attention was caught by a 51 Division Officer yelling at a soft-spoken man of color. The gentleman making his request had come to the wrong police station. This officer yelled loudly and repeatedly "Go to 53 Division" among other comments. The courteous police officer glanced at me a few times while trying to signal the angry officer who finished yelling and ended his tantrum by walking into the glass house separating the 51 Division officers from the public.

The Toronto Police values:

Honesty: We are truthful and open in our interactions with each other and with members of our communities.

Integrity: We are honourable, trustworthy, and strive to do what is right.

Fairness: We treat everyone in an impartial, equitable, sensitive, and ethical manner.

Respect: We value ourselves, each other, and members of our communities; showing understanding and appreciation for our similarities and differences.

Reliability: We are conscientious, professional, responsible, and dependable in our dealings with each other and our communities.

Team Work: We work together within the Service and with members of our communities to achieve our goals, making use of diverse skills, abilities, roles, and views.

Positive Attitude: We strive to bring positive and constructive influences to our dealings with each other and our communities.

Many officers embody these values including 3 from 11 Division, discussed in The Toronto Tribune's October cover story on TCHC. Five officers at 51 Division do not. One bad cop is one too many.