Policing explained
A recap of the laws, regulations, policies and oversight governing police in Hamilton and Ontario
The eyes of the world are on the United States amid massive and violent protests sparked by outrage over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. The 46year-old Black man died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes.
In Hamilton and other cities, there have been solidarity protests, and reminders that racism and violence happen here, too.
The protests have also raised questions about local policing issues. Here is a look at what the laws and regulations say in Ontario and Hamilton about police use of force, discipline and oversight:
Body-worn cameras
In November 2019, the Hamilton Police Services Board voted not to outfit officers with bodyworn cameras after considering a staff report that examined their use in other jurisdictions.
At the time, Chief Eric Girt said the cameras “come with myriad issues” including cost, data storage and questions about accuracy.
The board had looked at the issue after a call from families who lost loved ones in police shootings.
Discipline
In Ontario police are subject to the Police Services Act (PSA) and officers accused of misconduct can face disciplinary hearings. In Hamilton, those hearings are public and the media is alerted before the first appearance. Less serious matters are handled informally.
Officers facing discipline, including those also facing criminal charges, cannot be immediately fired. Rather they are placed on administrative duties or suspended with pay pending the outcome of the PSA matter.
Oversight
There are several oversight bodies in Ontario tasked with investigating police.
The Special Investigations Unit is an arm’s-length agency that investigates incidents involving police in Ontario when someone is seriously hurt, killed or there is an allegation of sexual assault.
Typically, the police service alerts the SIU after an incident and the SIU decides whether to engage its mandate. If that happens, the SIU assigns investigators. They have the power to criminally charge police officers. If the SIU decides charges are not warranted, which happens in most cases, a detailed director’s report is released publicly.
For incidents that do not meet the criteria for an SIU investigation, including complaints about police conduct, the service or policies, there is the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD). The OIPRD may dismiss a complaint, send it back to the police service for an internal investigation or investigate itself. Less serious matters may be resolved by an informal resolution or mediation.
Use of force
Use-of-force training is mandatory for all officers in Ontario.
In 2018 — the latest numbers available — 233 use-of-force incidents were recorded. The 10-year average was 235.
They are trained through the Ontario Police College and then train in-house annually through the training branch.
Officers are trained to use a firearm, conducted energy weapon (CEW), pepper spray and an extendable baton. There are also defensive tactics, which include open-palm strikes, elbow strikes and kicks. They are also trained on communication.
Officers are not trained to use chokeholds.
Police are trained to assess a situation and react based on the perceived level of threat. It is not an exact formula, but more subjective to the individual officer who is often making a splitsecond decision.
All incidents of force are recorded by the police service and presented to the police board annually.
In 2018 — the latest numbers available — a total 233 use-offorce incidents were recorded. The 10-year average was 235.
The incidents are broken into 10 categories: shootings, firearm pointed, handgun drawn, aerosol weapon, impact hard, impact soft, empty hands hard, empty hands soft, canine bite and CEW.
In Hamilton, most police shootings are to euthanize an injured animal. But in 2018 there were two fatal police shootings — Quinn MacDougall, killed on April 3, 2018, and Robyn Garlow, killed in an apartment on King Street East on Oct. 20.
Both incidents involved a distressed person with a knife. And in both incidents the SIU cleared the officers of wrongdoing.
As of this January, police services in Ontario are mandated to collect race-related data in use-of-force arrests.
Police across Ontario, including Hamilton, objected to how the data is collected. Hamilton police said the seven categories force officers to make an unfair perception decision.
The categories — “Black, East/ Southeast Asian, Indigenous, Latino, Middle Eastern, South Asian and White” — were adopted from the Anti-Racism Act.
Advocates say the data is important to be able to assess racial discrimination.
No use-of-force data has yet been released in Hamilton this year.
Carding
The practice of carding or street checks — police stopping people who are not suspected of a crime to ask for identifying information — has disproportionately targeted racialized groups across Ontario.
In response, the province implemented COII (Collection of Identifying Information) legislation in 2017 that restricts what information and when police can collect identifying information from the public.
When the legislation took effect, it drastically reduced the number of street checks recorded by police.