Toronto police chief apologizes for disproportionate use of force on people of color News
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Toronto police chief apologizes for disproportionate use of force on people of color

The Toronto police chief Wednesday publicly apologized for the department’s use of force which disproportionately impacts communities of color.

Police Chief James Ramer apologized for the pain caused by Toronto police using force and strip searches. Ramer said, “As an organization we have not done enough to ensure that every person in our city receives fair and unbiased policing and for this, as chief of police and on behalf of the service, I am sorry and I apologize unreservedly.”

A report from the Toronto Police showed that officers disproportionately use force on people of color compared to other racial groups. The report used data collected by the Toronto Police Service in 2020 with a specific focus on the use of force and strip searches. The data was divided out by race and showed that when police used force, around 40 precent of the time, it was against a Black person. The report also showed that only 10 precent of Toronto’s total population is Black. The report also showed that Middle Eastern, East and Southeast Asian as well as Latino populations were overrepresented in force and strip searches when compared to the precent of the total population they represent.

In his apology, Ramer said:

The release of this data will cause pain for many. Your concerns have deep roots that go beyond the release of today’s report. We must improve; we will do better….Some say we could have and should have acted earlier even without data. I assure you that we are now fully engaged and we have a way to measure the success of our efforts to eradicate racism.

Black queer feminist scholar and activist Beverly Bain rejected the police chief’s apology during the press conference. Bain said:

You’re not apologizing to the Black community, you’re apologizing to your rank and file. You talk about it being a painful and a hurtful process to your police officers, but this is insulting to Black people. This is insulting to Indigenous people. This is insulting to racialized people. This is insulting to the homeless, to those of us who are queer and trans.

The Toronto Police Association, who represent the police officers, called the report “disappointing.”

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