Toronto cops withdraw from Pride parade
Toronto police are withdrawing their application to march in the city’s Pride parade, the force’s chief announced Tuesday after event organizers said the presence of uniformed officers would make members of the LGBTQ community feel unsafe. Chief Mark Saunders said he hopes the move “will be received as a concrete example’’ of the fact that he is listening closely to the community’s concerns.
“I am committed thoroughly to building a better, stronger relationship between us,’’ Saunders said in a statement. “Much more work is needed, of course. But hopefully this moment moves us forward in an important way.’’ Pride Toronto and other community groups had posted a letter online Monday night asking police to withdraw their application, saying the force should work instead on better communication with the LGBTQ community.
Olivia Nuamah, Pride Toronto’s executive director, said the force’s handling of several highprofile deaths connected to the city’s gay village, including the disappearances of six men allegedly murdered by an accused serial killer, have shaken community relations with police.
“In asking them to (withdraw), instead of spending that time planning their participation in the parade, what (we hope police) would do is spend that time planning how to better consult with the LGBTQ community about what it thinks it needs to keep itself safe,’’ Nuamah said in an interview before Saunders announced his decision. Several LGBTQ groups have said police did not seriously consider community fears that a serial killer was targeting men in the gay village. Relations were further strained when Saunders told a newspaper in Feburary that “nobody’’ came to officers with information in 2012, when police launched an ultimately unsuccessful investigation into men missing from the area.
“Pride was born out of protest. It actually was born out of resistance to police,’’ Nuamah said. “That’s the context in which the community feels shaken, and it comes together to show strength and unity.’’
Individual officers will still be allowed to participate in the parade if they leave their uniforms, cruisers and guns at home, as those are police symbols that make the LGBTQ community feel unsafe, Nuamah added.
Police presence at the parade emerged as a contentious issue in 2016 _ that year’s march was interrupted by the local chapter of Black Lives Matter, which said it opposed uniformed officers being in the parade because their presence could discourage marginalized communities from participating.
The issue was thrust under the spotlight again in January last year, when Pride Toronto adopted a list of demands issued by Black Lives Matter that included banning police floats from the parade. The following month, Saunders announced the force would not be participating in 2017’s event.