Levy says ‘sorry’ but Polish community wary
Police board member apologizes for 2016 comments linking Poles to Holocaust
Hamilton police board vice chair Madeleine Levy has apologized to the Polish community for hurtful comments about the Holocaust she made almost a year ago.
“I am genuinely sorry that the incident happened; I recognize that it was out of place to speak in this manner,” Levy said in a prepared statement.
But in offering her apology Levy stood by her previous position that despite allegations to the contrary her provocative remarks made no reference to “Auschwitz,” the notorious Nazi-run death camp in occupied Poland.
“However, I realize that I hurt members of the Polish community and for this I am truly, truly sorry,” Levy, a Holocaust educator, said at a recent board meeting.
The long-running controversy stems from fellow board member Walt Juchniewicz’s allegations that during a board break last December Levy wrongly asserted “Poles killed Jews in Auschwitz.”
Representatives from the local Polish community won’t say whether Levy’s qualified apology cuts the mustard until after a Dec. 5 meeting with board chair Coun. Lloyd Ferguson and member Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “I want to review everything,” said Helena Glogowski, president of the Hamilton district of the Canadian-Polish Congress. “When the delegates hear what type of an apology it was, I will have a comment.”
The initial allegation against Levy snowballed into larger questions about board competency and internal dissensions when the Polish-born Juchniewicz complained in an email to city officials about Levy and Ferguson’s handling of the issue.
That prompted the board to ask the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) last February to investigate both Levy’s alleged comment and whether Juchniewicz’s email violated the board’s code of conduct.
Last month the infamously slowpoke OCPC finally ruled that both episodes were inappropriate but didn’t warrant investigations. Instead it slapped Levy’s and Juchniewicz’s wrist and told the board to take some cultural competency and code of conduct training, which the board agreed to do.
“I will wholly embrace the training for our board as recommended by the commission,” Levy said.
This is not the first time Levy has tried to put the matter to rest.
She expressed regret to Juchniewicz in a letter last January. “Dear Walt, “she wrote, “I regret the incident happened at the December police board meeting. I am sorry that it upset you.”
Neither Juchniewicz nor representatives of the Polish community accepted that as a genuine apology. Juchniewicz declines to say what he thinks of Levy’s latest mea culpa for fear of landing in hot water again. Just prior to Levy’s statement, the board formally voted to consider the entire mortifying matter closed.
But if Juchniewicz is zipping his lips, his legal counsel isn’t. Pamela Machado, who specializes in police issues, calls Levy’s apology “disappointing.”
“I would say an apology is an admission and taking accountability whereas this was an explanation.”
According to Machado, the apology is “diminished’ because it’s several months late, incomplete, and calls into question Juchniewicz’s credibility by not acknowledging the reference to Auschwitz.
Machado says Levy’s apology is also “unprofessional” because it really amounts to saying, “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings but that’s not what I said.”
Levy’s claims she was unable to apologize earlier because OCPC was looking into the matter but that she has tried “many, many times to amicably resolve the issue.”
Be that it may, it seems almost everyone involved is now ready to put the embarrassing affair to rest. It’s not only been a major distraction, but the allegations and the sluggish OCPC process haven’t exactly bolstered people’s confidence in a board that governs Hamilton’s police service and oversees its $157 million operating budget. Still, it doesn’t look like the book will be completely closed until the Polish community has the last word after the Dec. 5 meeting.