‘Anti-black racism’ review of SIU needed: councillors
Motion calls for review of cases — though no statistics kept by police watchdog
Citing a growing lack of public trust, a trio of Toronto city councillors called Friday for a provincial review of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) “with an anti-black racism lens.”
Councillors Mike Layton, Kristyn Wong-Tam and Gord Perks won unanimous approval for their motion requesting a provincial review of police services in Toronto and of the SIU, to be conducted by Premier Kathleen Wynne, the minister responsible for the new anti-racism directorate and others.
“Most in Toronto acknowledge that there is a growing lack of trust between those in authority and our community, in particular around anti-black racism,” Layton said in an interview Thursday.
Mayor John Tory, who sits on the Toronto Police Services Board, sup- ported the move.
A review of the SIU — the civilian police watchdog that probes deaths, serious injuries or allegations of sexual assault involving Ontario police — would ensure the system is set up “in such a way that takes into account things like racism that exists in our communities,” Layton said.
The call for a review comes amid ongoing, heated protest against the outcome of a recent SIU investigation into the shooting death of Toronto resident Andrew Loku. The mentally ill man originally from South Sudan was fatally shot by a Toronto police officer in July 2015 while wielding a hammer inside his apartment building.
Earlier this month, the unnamed officer who killed Loku was cleared of wrongdoing in the death.
Members of the group Black Lives Matter have been camped outside Toronto police headquarters in the days since, protesting the results of the investigation and issuing a list of demands, including an “overhaul” of the SIU in consultation with the black community.
“Black Lives Matter, community outreach workers and mental health agencies have all been speaking out and telling us that people are not being treated justly,” Layton, WongTam and Perks wrote in the motion.
Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash declined to comment on the motion Thursday.
Mike McCormack, Toronto Police Association president, calls the move by councillors “political,” saying it unfairly implies that within the SIU and Toronto police there is a problem with systemic racism. “I have an issue with it, for sure,” he said.
McCormack has denied that race had anything to do with Loku’s death, saying the fact Loku was black “had no bearing on the officer’s decision that night.”
Among the issues the councillors say should be examined is the outcome of SIU cases involving victims from racialized communities.
However, the SIU has told the Star it does not collect data about the race of victims involved in SIU cases, including those killed during interactions with police.
“The SIU does not collect data about the race of any person involved in an SIU investigation,” spokesperson Jason Gennaro said in an email Thursday.
Wong-Tam said in an interview this week that the SIU should start collecting this information.