A lot has changed since TTC brawl video
Just over two years ago, video surfaced of two TTC transit enforcement officers engaged in a full-on brawl with a father and son at Union Station after a Leafs game.
The images were kind of shocking: while the son was being restrained by another TTC employee, one officer repeatedly landed punches to his face; while the father was kneeling face-down on the ground, the other officer punches him.
It wasn’t exactly clear how it started, or how it might be justified, if it was. But, as TTC Chair Josh Colle said at the time, “I find it hard to fathom what context could make that acceptable.”
And beyond the incident itself, the episode raised other questions: why, I asked at the time, did the video have to surface before the TTC opened an investigation into the punch-up? Why did the officers not seem to be de-escalating the situation despite TTC CEO Andy Byford’s emphasis that de-escalation was the focus of their training? Exactly what kind of training did they get?
Two years later, it isn’t a heck of a lot clearer who’s to blame for what happened.
A police investigation cleared the TTC officers and charged the father and son. Then those charges were dropped before going to court.
Then the father and son filed a $4million lawsuit, which still hasn’t been resolved.
As far as who was justified, we still pretty much have the evidence of our own eyes on the video as our only significant piece of information.
But thanks to a report this week from city of Toronto Ombudsman Susan Opler, we do have answers to many of those other questions — and some reassurance, perhaps, that such an incident may be less likely to occur in the future.
It turns out, she reported, that the Transit Enforcement Unit’s “use of force policy does not address the use of deescalation as an alternative to the use of force.”
Which doesn’t sound good.
“Training materials do not clearly outline how (officers) are taught and evaluated on de-escalation skills, and their training on dealing with people with mental illness or in emotional distress is limited,” the report said. That doesn’t sound good either.
As the people charged with both enforcing TTC fare rules and keeping some order on the transit system, these officers will regularly have to deal with drunk people, people suffering mental health crises, people who are distressed — and in all of those cases, talking and otherwise “de-escalating” will tend to be more useful than punching or using weapons. The section on the lack of de-escalation training is particularly interesting reading given the emphasis on it that Byford, as well as TTC chair Josh Colle and other senior executives, stressed at the time of the incident.
Opler notes this disconnect, and says that in talks with such executives and with enforcement unit members they stressed that “deescalation is always the first option when responding to an incident.”
But when she investigated the actual training units, she found it was barely mentioned as part of the use-of-force model, and that while officers were trained, tested and graded specifically on various handto-hand combat techniques, there was no similar testing of de-escalation and communication techniques.
It may sound soft and fuzzy, or it may sound obvious, but if you’ve worked in a bar or overseen children, you’ll know that you cannot emphasize enough the value of being able to talk someone down, communicate with them to avoid violence, take the pressure off them to let the situation evolve peacefully. It’s not enough to talk about it while practicing only your butt-kicking skills.
Further, Opler’s investigation found there was no system at the TTC to “track use of force incidents” and no way to open an investigation into officers’ conduct unless someone made a complaint. Which seems outrageous when we’re talking about people entrusted with using force on our behalf.
Now, since that time, the TTC seems to have somewhat softened its enforcement unit’s approach in general.
Fare inspectors no longer carry batons or handcuffs, for instance, and wear a more “customer friendly” uniform.
And the good news is that Byford has accepted the ombudsman’s conclusions unreservedly.
Over the last two years, the TTC has changed the tone and general approach of its fare enforcement
In a letter included in the report itself, Byford says that all her recommendations have been or are being implemented by the end of the year.
That’s as it should be. A lot has changed in two years. Leafs fans, for one, might be more inclined to hug people than wrestle them after games these days. The TTC has changed the tone of its fare enforcement. We haven’t seen any more videos emerge that look more like MMA fights than commuting scenes.
Opler’s report, and Byford’s response to it, make it all the more likely that will remain the case. Edward Keenan writes on city issues ekeenan@thestar.ca. Follow: @thekeenanwire