Hamilton police response at Pride ‘inadequate’: independent review
Lawyer who led probe of violent confrontation calls it a ‘blueprint for renewal’
An independent review into homophobic violence at last year’s Pride celebrations in Gage Park concludes the Hamilton police should apologize for an “inadequate” effort that left attendees and the public unprotected.
On June 15, 2019, xenophobic disruptors crashed the annual festivities, leading to a clash with counterprotesters.
It took police several minutes to arrive to quell the violence, a delay that critics say allowed the mayhem to rage on unnecessarily.
“Their activities could reasonably have been anticipated by police, but they weren’t. As a result, the police response was inadequate — before, during and after the event,” lawyer Scott Bergman wrote in the report released Monday.
The report is “very damaging” for the Hamilton Police Service, said Michael Demone, who attended last year’s Pride celebration and took part in the review.
“I think that we need to continue calls for Chief (Eric) Girt to resign, and I’m hopeful that the findings of this report will help a movement that is looking at reallocating funds from police services to community organizations and communities at risk.”
In recent days, protests over George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis have included calls to defund police forces in the United States and Canada alike.
Cameron Kroetsch, an organizer of last year’s Pride celebration, echoed Demone’s call to reallocate funds from the local police budget to such investments as social services and housing.
Both also contrasted Bergman’s report from the findings of the Office of the Independent Police Review Director’s report, which found citizen complaints “unsubstantiated.”
“You can see the difference when you have an independent review done versus a review where police are just investigating themselves in an echo chamber,” said Kroetsch, who wasn’t speaking on behalf of any committee.
Kroetsch said the independent re
view cost $600,000 of taxpayers’ money to reveal what “communities have been saying for decades.”
In the 125-page document, Bergman writes Hamilton police’s inadequate response “added to the distrust of police in some circles.”
But the Toronto lawyer adds, “with every crisis comes opportunity,” calling the review a “blueprint for renewal.”
Hamilton police declined to immediately comment on the independent review’s findings.
Bergman is expected to present the results to the police services board June 11, police said in a news release Monday. Girt will speak to the media after the public meeting, the release said.
Similarly, Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who is chair of the police services board, thanked Bergman for the review but said he’d reserve comments until the presentation.
According to the review, on June 15, 2019, “homophobes, white supremacists and organized agitators” showed up at Pride celebrations in Gage Park toting anti-LGBTQ signs.
A formation of masked counterprotesters responded by positioning a large fabric screen in front of them to block the homophobic display from celebrants deeper in the park.
Violence — kicking, shoving and punching — ensued. The arrests of “Pride defenders,” including a transgender anarchist parolee for a speech during an LGBTQ advisory committee meeting at city hall, sparked further outrage.
Girt was then assailed for his commentary on a local radio program about the policing response and remarks about the LGBTQ community. He issued public apologies more than once.
In his review, Bergman — whom the board hired in October — said the police “fell short in its planning and preparation” for the Pride celebration.
Police didn’t prepare an operational plan until two days before the event, and “failed to properly and effectively consult” with its organizers, he found, calling it “wholly inadequate.”
The police “lacked important details,” including a map of the park, event permit areas and where the “agitators” would likely show up.
The operational plan “also failed to specify legal mechanisms such as relevant Criminal Code provisions and municipal bylaws that could be used to protect the event and its attendees from being disrupted and intimidated by agitators.”
Four officers assigned to Pride “responded appropriately to a chaotic and volatile situation,” the report says, but “it was not safe to break up the confrontation without more resources” and they had to “wait for backup.”
Bergman’s report also addresses comments Girt made about the police’s response on a local radio program. These remarks “demonstrated a lack of concern for the LGBTQIA+ communities.”
Jelena Vermilion said Girt’s remarks about gay sex in public washrooms, for instance, were “shameful” and “disgusting” despite his apology.
“It is abhorrent to try to summarize a large, diverse group of people as a sex act. It’s dehumanizing,” added Vermilion, who is a trans woman and advocate for sex workers. “So this report ... is really vindicating because I feel it does show the ongoing harm that the police perpetuate on marginalized communities.”
Bergman writes that mending frayed relationships will “undoubtedly take time” and require a “concerted effort” by all, “but as a public institution, the onus rests first and foremost with” the Hamilton police.
Cole Gately, chair of Hamilton Trans Health Coalition, said the report “is very strong and lays out concrete, meaningful steps to be taken by (Hamilton police) to try much harder to develop meaningful, sustainable and collaborative relationships with Hamilton’s Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities.”
Gately added “in light of recent events across North America, this is a unique opportunity to revisit and reimagine policing to be more responsive to the communities that it serves.”
The independent review offers several recommendations:
Police should “unequivocally” apologize to the community for inadequate planning, the absence of communication with Pride organizers, and for creating the impression that the police response to agitators would have been different had police been formally invited to the event;
For 2021, officers, including the LGBTQ liaison officer, should meet with Pride organizers to discuss public safety issues after the operational plan is drafted and before the event takes place;
The operational plan must include far more information than it has in previous years, including the numerous legal tools available to prevent agitators from disrupting the event;
On the day of the event, supervising officers should arrive at the park and contact organizers before the event starts — they should be in constant communication with organizers throughout the event;
Police and the police services board should publicly acknowledge that building a relationship of mutual trust will take years and should publicly commit to the hard work necessary for that to happen;
Police must develop and mandate more in-depth seminars and hands-on training for officers with respect to TwoSpirit and LGBTQIA+ issues;
Officers of all ranks should be “required to work within the Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities” on a regular basis in order to receive experiential training in conjunction with more traditional, lectureoriented sessions;
All senior command officers should receive enhanced media training to ensure any media appearances are conducted with professionalism and appropriate messaging;
The police service should carefully consider undertaking a diversity audit or organizational culture review;
The police service should issue a statement such as “The Hamilton Police Service is committed to protecting the public safety and ensuring that Pride 2021 is a success for everyone that attends to celebrate the diversity of Hamilton. HPS will work with Pride organizers to ensure a safe event where everyone is respected regardless of whether HPS is asked to participate in Pride.
The police services board and/or the police service should institute a mechanism for external review and audit of these recommendations and grading of compliance, and the HPS should be prepared to address how and in what manner it has responded to these recommendations 12 months and 24 months after the release of this report.
“It was a pretty damning report,” said Graham Crawford, an LGBTQ community member who has been a vocal critic of the mayor and chief’s response to Pride. “It was thorough and fair … I have to admit I’m pleasantly surprised.
“This isn’t just a report about a 45-minute window at Pride … This is about a clear pattern of behaviour.”
Crawford said the differences in the findings between the independent review and the largely internal complaint probe highlight the need for “cultural change” within the police service.
“You have one report that is damning. And the other reports says ‘We did nothing wrong! We’re perfect,’ ” he said. “How does that happen?” Coun. Maureen Wilson — who along with Coun. Nrinder Nann, called for an independent review last year — called Bergman’s report “very credible.”
“It didn’t pull any punches,” Wilson said.
The Ward 1 councillor said she is focused on the findings of the independent review rather than those coming out of the largely internal police probe of Pride complaints.
She said rebuilding the “damaged” trust in the police service will take “a significant amount of hard work and humility,” as well as a commitment to listen to the community.
“It has to begin with an apology,” Wilson said. “It’s hard to begin the long journey (to repair relationships) in the absence of that.”
Kroetsch said Girt’s resignation or dismissal alone won’t lead to meaningful progress. What’s needed is a “radical” new approach to a systemic problem. “It’s what happens with those recommendations that matters.”
To help restore trust, police appointed a new LGBTQ liaison officer, Det. Const. Rebecca Moran — a first for the police service. They have also held feedback sessions with community members.
At city hall, Eisenberger has received council support for pursuing the creation of a multi-purpose hub for Hamilton’s diverse and marginalized communities amid rising concerns over discrimination.
He also struck a task force against hate.
The backdrop for the Pride violence was a regular gathering of anti-immigration rallies outside city hall, which pro-diversity advocates flagged as blatant signs that hate groups were flourishing in Hamilton.