New chief saddled with old beefs
Already the implications have surfaced: Too much the cop’s cop and not black enough in his soul.
Overly respected by the rank and file — as if that’s a drawback when those are the men and women Mark Saunders will be leading for at least the next five years.
Insufficiently pleasing to the racially charged advocacy groups that had overtly promoted Deputy Chief Peter Sloly because they had his ear.
Unforgivably nuanced on the controversial practice of carding — stop and query — which he’s defended in the past as a policing tool of some value, though many outright reject the proce-
Royson James Saunders has his work cut out for him as he takes the helm, GT1
dure as invasive and disproportionately branding of young black males. Bill Blair’s man. Change is the buzzword, its practical meaning usually unspecified. Police board chair Alok Mukherjee put it squarely in the crosshairs of his endorsement when introducing Saunders on Monday as Toronto’s next police chief, simultaneously taking a nonetoo-subtle swipe at Blair by characterizing the anointed one as someone who will “give and accept advice,’’ who will foster “trust and accountability,’’ who will stimulate a “spirit of co-operation.’’
What Mukherjee intimated is that Blair wasn’t those things during a regime that became increasingly caustic in its waning months, chief versus civilian oversight board, Blair digging in his heels over operational decision-making that is invested in the chief by the Police Act. Primarily it was a clash over carding, viewed by critics as de facto racial profiling.
Take out the “racial’’ descriptor and profiling comes down to investigative intuition when properly utilized. Routinely halting and quizzing individuals — documenting these purportedly random interactions with members of the public who haven’t been arrested, who aren’t otherwise suspected of involvement in a crime — is not proper and has deeply embittered relations with the black community. There’s got to be a more compelling reason for taking names and demanding answers, which, in fact, no citizen is obliged to provide prearrest. It’s voluntary.
Blair didn’t want his officers under order to make that fact known when approaching carding targets and, ultimately, the board capitulated to the chief’s opposition in accepting a diluted version of policy a week ago, which broke a mediated eightmonth impasse. No receipt for the exchange either, which always sounded weird; merely a cop business card.
Nor, in a related matter covered by other regulations, are police forbidden from disclosing nonconviction records to potential employers and volunteer organizations seeking that information — a sharing of data that has also been condemned by activist groups.
The change mantra notwithstanding, Saunders would be well-advised to stick with what got him here, propelling him to full frontal among rivals for the chief’s job. He should no more be the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition’s “man’’ than the African Canadian Legal Clinic’s “man,’’ than Blair’s “man,” than the establishment’s “man,’’ than the editorial writers’ “man.’’
Saunders’ bona fides are beyond solid: Unit commander of the homicide squad, urban street gang unit, intelligence division, professional standards, drug squad, creator of the investigative cybercrime unit and, currently, as deputy, in charge of Specialized Operations Command, which includes security for the upcoming Pan-Am Games.
Oh, and he’s Toronto’s first black chief, which sounds awfully patronizing as a pat on the back in 2015, more a matter of self-congratulation for those who look at all of life through a racial prism, or whatever prism reflects their niche absorption.
Saunders, born in England of Jamaican heritage, doesn’t. He seems to take a post-racial view of the world, which puts him ahead of the curve.
“I think as first black chief it’s important to make sure I have the skills necessary to qualify for it,” he told his introductory news conference. “Being black is fantastic. It doesn’t give me super powers. If you’re expecting that all of a sudden the Earth will open up and miracles will happen — that’s not going to happen.
“What is going to happen is there will be lots of open dialogue, there will be lots of talking — more so than ever before. I look forward to those conversations. I want to get a pulse from the city.”
Despite being pushed by reporters, Saunders didn’t fall into the trap of immediately vowing to reopen the carding dilemma. Flawed as the protocol may be, it’s not necessarily a top priority for a city contending with manifold social ills and the crime that arises from them.
“Again, community safety is the most important thing,” he reminded, picking his way carefully through the minefield that beckoned. “We also have to be able to do it by minimizing collateral damage. And it’s apparent that there was collateral damage. I want to sit down, I want to talk, I want to hear exactly what the concerns are.”
Blair never explained it — carding’s questionable merits. Saunders must do so, clearly and persuasively, or dump the damn thing.
But do not assume that this black father of four black kids, because he cleaves to the most traditional responsibilities of a police force — a safe environment for all — is tone deaf to the fears of parents, like him, who live daily with the what-if equation: What if my boy is stopped by cops? What if my child falls innocently afoul of a bully with a badge and a gun?
There have been too many black men killed or wounded for nothing, or as the consequence of minor infractions. As there have been too many mentally ill victims of police gunfire in situations where lethal confrontations could have been de-escalated rather than exploding.
It will be a challenge for incoming chief Saunders on multiple fronts and he’ll be expected to meet them with fiscal prudence on top of everything else. Under Blair, the police budget skyrocketed to nearly a billion dollars, most of it gobbled up by officer salaries, with a new fouryear pact recently unveiled that would nevertheless bump wages by some 8.35 per cent. Any cost cuts envisioned would therefore have to be trimmed from the expense of services provided.
The board gave him the job. But he can’t be the board’s “man” now either. We’ve been down that road before, when a board chaired by Susan Eng, riveted by community policing, delivered us the ineffective and pre-emasculated Dave Boothby.
When Saunders stepped to the podium yesterday, the seconds ticked away as he seemed to be collecting his thoughts and his notes. “Bear with me,” he asked. We all owe him that much, for now.