As introductions go, it wasn’t the smoothest. For reformers scoping signs of how the Toronto Police Service will change under Mark Saunders, T.O.’s first black chief, the press conference announcing his surprise appointment on Monday, April 20, had to rate as a disappointment.
Saunders put a chill on the prospects for “transformative change” that Police Services Board chair Alok Mukherjee had pledged to the media just moments before.
“If you’re expecting the earth to open up and miracles… that’s not going to happen,” he said.
On the elephant in the room – the police practice of carding – Saunders talked about sitting down to listen to community concerns. But that die has already been cast. The board passed a revised policy last week, an even more controversial version of the old one, after push-back from the force, including Saunders.
A little conciliation at this inaugural event might have helped soothe concerns about over-policing in racialized communities, but Saunders was all business, working hard to downplay the black thing. “It’s fantastic to be black,” he said. “But it doesn’t give me superpowers.”
That levity went over well with city editorialists, but there was a moment of tension when one media type suggested that referring to those innocently caught up in police carding as “collateral damage” might not go over well with affected communities. Saunders thanked the reporter for the advice.
His critics are saying Saunders was the compromise candidate, chosen because the police union wanted no part of his rival, Peter Sloly, who was widely viewed as the board’s guy. No one’s expectations seem to be weighing too heavily right now on Saunders’s shoulders, though this is a force at many serious crossroads.
The resumé: a traditional trajectory
Saunders has come through the proving grounds for future chiefs, with stints in the drug, gang and homicide units. Also noteworthy: as deputy chief he developed C3, the cybercrime unit he was a contributing author of the Police And Community Engagement Review, the force’s report on carding he won the Black Canadians Award for Public Service he’s an accomplished photographer.
Five musts on the new chief’s to-do list
1. Get back into the neighbourhoods.
We say it every time there’s a new chief, but it’s not rocket science: it all starts with community policing. Black neighbourhood engagement won’t mend all the problems, but Bill Blair proved it could be done. The positive response was immediate until TAVIS (Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy) came along and ruined everything. Which brings us to the next point.
2. Fix TAVIS – or get rid of it.
The original mandate of the initiative was never solely to be a rapid response unit. “Engagement with community members” was supposed to be the core of its work, but somehow that got lost amidst the tallying of falling crime stats.
3. Revisit the carding policy passed by the board in 2014.
There will be an opportunity in six months when a review of the policy passed by the board last week is due. No one wants or needs a protracted legal war with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
4. Modernize.
Under Blair, the force did a good job of recruiting visible minorities, but it essentially remains a paramilitary organization. Not everybody needs to be packin’ a 9mm to do his or her job.
5. Raise professional standards.
Taxpayers continue to spend too much on the legal expenses of problem cops.
The reaction: love ’em or hate ’em
“This is a bittersweet moment for our city. We welcome seeing an African Canadian at the helm of the Toronto Police Service. Unfortunately, he referred to thousands of individuals harmed by carding as ‘collateral damage.’ The police are not at war with the community. Why would you refer to those harmed as collateral damage?”
Anthony Morgan, policy and research lawyer, African Canadian Legal Clinic
“The board has found the advocate of effective, equitable policing, the recognized police leader and the creative problem solver it was seeking.”
Police Services Board chair Alok Mukherjee
“There has been a huge, huge divide between the police and community as a whole over the G20 and carding. There is a real need now for the chief to bring the community together. The new chief also has to address the economics of policing. There is a real need to use technology more efficiently and look at manpower. I’m hoping he will rise to the occasion.”
Scarborough Centre councillor and former Police Services Board vice-chair Michael Thompson.
“He’s a more traditional kind of officer – as [police union president] Mike McCormack said, ‘a cop’s cop.’ Carding and racial profiling are the tip of the iceberg. There are many other challenges around women and victims of domestic violence being charged with assault that have resulted in another level of mistrust between the community and the police.”
Avvy Go, director, Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic
“The fact that he is the choice of the rank and file and the police association doesn’t endear him to me a whole lot. [An outsider] may have been a total breath of fresh air.”
Paul Copeland, criminal lawyer, founding member of the Law Union of Ontario, member Toronto Police Accountability Coalition
“Whether you have a black officer in the leadership role or not, it doesn’t address the systemic issues of racial profiling or carding.”
Butterfly Gopaul, organizer, Jane Finch Action Against Poverty
The immediate fallout: Peter Sloly not so surely
The force will likely lose Sloly, whose failure to land the top job is due to several factors. Handpicked stars of the Police Services Board have a history of falling short. And Sloly had some dust-ups with the police union – never a good thing for your career. The substantive knock against him? He wasn’t quite ready for prime time, not enough streets smarts despite the academic background, etc…. But it’s also fair to say Sloly may have been a tad too ambitious for the liking of some of his political masters, or at least that’s one story making the rounds.
With files from Vidya Kauri
enzom@nowtoronto.com | @enzodimatteo