Constable guilty of four disciplinary charges
Decision ‘reinforces the fact journalists have an important and mandated role to play in society’
An angry and aggressive Hamilton police officer had no authority or reason to arrest two photojournalists as they worked at the scene of a fatal accident.
Const. Jeff Todoruck — whose tirade was recorded by several journalists — was found guilty Thursday of four disciplinary charges under the Police Services Act. Videos and photographs posted to social media from that scene documented the veteran officer’s actions — shouting, confiscating cameras, handcuffing and even “grounding” one of the media members. His actions have drawn criticism from journalists across Canada.
The decision comes at an interesting time when police behaviour is already being heavily scrutinized. Police in the United States and Canada are being protested for their treatment of Black and other racialized community members. In the U.S., some journalists have been arrested by police while covering the massive protests that have resulted.
Meanwhile, the Hamilton Police Service has been rebuked for its mishandling of a hate attack at last year’s Pride event. One recommendation from an independent review of the debacle was for Chief Eric Girt and senior officers to get media training.
From the chief to a constable, Hamilton police has a media relations problem.
The hearing heard the Hamilton police media relations officer at the time of the arrests was so upset by the incident — he raced to the scene on his day off to try to intervene — that he quit policing. He is now a firefighter.
Lots of Hamilton cops have great relationships with the media. The arrested photojournalists — freelancer Dave Ritchie and former Global TV stringer Jeremy Cohn — are adamant about that.
But Todoruck does not. During his three-day hearing in March it became apparent he didn’t understand his service’s own media policy.
In May 2017, 10-year-old Jasmin Hanif was struck and killed by a vehicle near her home on Evans Road in Waterdown. The girls’ parents witnessed her death.
Todoruck was among the first officers there.
When Ritchie and Cohn arrived, the child had already been taken away.
Ritchie was confronted by Todoruck and told to leave. He was handcuffed and put in the back of his cruiser.
Ritchie was charged with obstructing police and resisting arrest. Later, he entered into a peace bond and the charges were dropped.
Cohn arrived and asked Todoruck why Ritchie was in the cruiser. Todoruck told Cohn to leave. The hearing heard Todoruck shoved Cohn to the ground, put his knee into his back, zip-tied his hands behind his back and put him into a second cruiser.
Cohn was released without charges.
Todoruck is convicted on one count of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority for arresting Cohn, two counts of neglect of duty for failing to read either journalist his rights to counsel, and one count of discreditable conduct for leaving Ritchie in the cruiser unattended. Todoruck’s defence was that Ritchie and Cohn interfered with the scene.
“At no time did Mr. Cohn wilfully attempt to obstruct or impede Const. Todoruck in the performance of his duties,” hearing officer Peter Lennox, a retired Toronto police superintendent, wrote in his decision.
Todoruck was found not guilty of a fifth charge of discreditable conduct related to Cohn being left unattended in a cruiser. He may have thought another officer was supervising him. The decision was handed down in a video conference call.
Todoruck, who represented himself at the hearing, did not join the call. He has continued to work while facing his charges. Submissions will be heard at a later date to determine his penalty.
Cohn has launched a $900,000 lawsuit against the Hamilton Police Services board and Todoruck.
The Police Services Act process was triggered when Mackay Taggart, a news director at Global, filed a complaint to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.
The decision reinforces that “the work journalists do not only is legal but has special standing in the course of our civil society,” says Taggart. “The police owe Cohn and other journalists special consideration when doing their job at a crime scene.”
While some misinformed commenters on Twitter have criticized the photojournalists for videotaping a dead child (which is not true), Taggart says the public must understand why media covers tragic scenes.
“Everybody benefits from a third-party witness to the activities of police,” he says. “We are the eyes and ears of the public.”
Reporting can effect change. It did in this case. Media interviews with Jasmin’s family led to traffic being rerouted away from her street.
“Any journalist would do what I did that day,” says Cohn, now with CBC.
Taggart wants to meet with Girt.
“There’s need for media training and then after that training is done, there’s need for more media training,” he says.