Calgary LGBTQ community gets police apology

Past mistakes acknowledged by current chief

CALGARY • The chief of the Calgary police apologized Friday to the city’s LGBTQ community.

“We are sorry for the role we have played in your painful past,” said Roger Chaffin, adding the force has a lot of work to do.

“There are opportunities missed, but we have lots of opportunity in the future. We have learned over time and there are things we did in the past that we would not do the same way today.”

Over the last few years, the service has been meeting with members of Calgary’s gender and sexually diverse community to discuss concerns and learn how the relationship between the force and the community could be improved.

Chaffin said it was during these sessions that it became apparent the community has a mistrust and fear of the service over past experiences.

Calgary police spoke out against the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969 and have since struggled to embrace the changes made since the law passed. The service refused permits to the pride parade in the 1980s.

The 2002 raid of the Goliath bathhouse raid caused further rifts between the service and the community when 15 people were arrested and charged with bawdy house charges.

Members of the gay community spoke out at the time, calling the raid “an attack against this community.”

“We have learned through our history that we can fulfil our duty with far more compassion and respect than we have shown gender and sexually diverse Calgarians in the past,” Chaffin said during his public address at police headquarters Friday.

Calgary Pride president Jason Kingsley said he and the group accept the apology.

“It’s a very emotional day for myself and members of our board and our community,” he said.

“It’s really great to see an institution like the Calgary Police Service taking a leadership role in holding themselves accountable for past mistakes and not just acknowledging past history, but also acknowledging there is more work to be done going forward.”

Kingsley said the group would have information coming soon regarding the groups’ annual parade and the service.

“This apology is really about progressing the conversation beyond just the parade, or the uniform, and it’s about honouring and respecting all segments of our community and the broader community,” he said.

“We have had some great dialogue (about the parade) this year.”

Dr. Kristopher Wells, an associate professor at the University of Alberta, called it a “historic day.”

“It’s an important first step. A good apology looks back at the wrongs of the past and the injustices and it sets a path forward in helping to build trust and positive relationships with marginalized communities.”

Wells said the service has done good work leading by example, but that there is a lot of work left to be done.

“Calgary has also been unique in one of the only police services in the country that has had a dedicated LGBTQ community liaison officer who is at many events throughout the year to continue listening to the community and letting them know there is an access point in the service,” Wells said.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said in the past year there have been issues surrounding police services coming to terms with what has been a “difficult history.”

“We have seen even as recently this summer in Edmonton that it’s easy to take a path of conflict ... and I think it’s really extraordinary that members of the LQBTQ community and the police service and volunteers who provide oversight for the police commission have come together as human beings with open hearts, open minds and open arms to make sure everybody in this community deserves a life of dignity,” he said.

“Making sure that we do that means we acknowledge our history to build something moving forward that acknowledges dignity and safety.

“I really applaud the police chief for taking that courageous step.”

THINGS WE DID IN THE PAST THAT WE WOULD NOT DO THE SAME.

Roger Chaffin