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Mourners demand “justice for Charlie”

Roughly one hundred people gathered at Christie and Bloor streets Monday night to mourn the death of Charles McGillivary, the 45-year-old intellectually disabled man who died one week ago after an altercation with police.

As the sun went down over Christie Pits mourners lit candles and held several moments of silence, a fitting tribute to a man whose inability to speak may well have played a role in his death.

“Tonight we’re here to respect Charlie, who couldn’t talk, who couldn’t respond to anyone,” said Karleen Steer, a tenant representative at the Toronto Community Housing property where McGillivary lived with his mother. “We’re not here to point fingers or to blame anyone right now. We’re here to respect Charlie.”

People who knew McGillivary or were saddened by his passing gave short speeches and sang songs. The crowd chanted of “Justice for Charlie” again and again.

McGillivary, by all accounts a burly but gentle man, suffered brain damage and lost the ability to speak when he was struck by a car at age four. He died last Monday, August 1 while walking with his mother Ann to a pizza parlour near Christie Pits.

At around 8:30 pm he was approached by three officers who reportedly believed he matched a suspect’s description. When he wouldn’t tell them his name, they tried to apprehend him and the ensuing struggle McGillivary was injured. He was later pronounced dead at Toronto Western Hospital. An autopsy was performed but the cause of his death has not been released.

While Steer said now was not the time to place blame, some in the crowd were clearly angry with the Toronto Police.

NDP MPP Rosario Marchese received a resounding cheer when he told the crowd he had written a letter to Police Chief Bill Blair demanding a full inquiry into the incident.

“This mother needs answers and the community needs answers,” he said. “The policemen and -women are not adequately trained [to tell] when someone is suffering.”

Anna Willats of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition attended the vigil, and said in an interview beforehand that McGillivary’s death fits a pattern of police behaviour in which officers automatically escalate a situation when faced with non-compliance. She said this behaviour was most evident at the G20 summit but is common practice among Toronto officers.

“Police need to learn how to de-escalate situations, not up the ante,” she said.

The Special Investigations Unit, which is called in when any police interaction with the public results in injury or death, has launched and investigation into McGillivary’s death. A news release from the SIU states that a “[d]uring the arrest a physical altercation took place and Mr. McGillivary collapsed.” Three unnamed officers have been identified as the subject of the investigation.

According to SIU spokesperson Jasbir Brar, several eyewitnesses have come forward with video and pictures of the altercation.

David Hingsburger, a prominent lecturer on disability issues, said in an interview that he was concerned by the fact that according to reports, police persisted in using physical force even after McGillivary’s mother told them he had an intellectual disability. Police allegedly restrained his hands, which Hingsburger says would likely panic a man whose only form of communication was signs.

But Hingsburger also stressed that pointing the finger at the police obscures the ways society in general discriminates against disabled people. “I think we have to put into context that society isn’t necessarily welcoming to people who have intellectual disabilities overall, and police are members of society,” he said. “People with disabilities face all sorts of discrimination and brutality and teasing and bullying.”

People with disabilities face higher rates of physical abuse than other members of society, he said.

As the vigil continued into nightfall, Ann McGillivary sat down on the grass, exhausted by the effort of standing and overwhelmed by the crowd around her. Mourners placed lit candles in front of her and one man laid a slice of pepperoni pizza alongside them, a reference to one of Charlie’s favourite foods.

As the crowd began to disperse, Ann grabbed the microphone and told departing mourners she had a message for them. “Less violence, more love,” she said.

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