Officer felt threatened by superiors
Toronto cop alleging harassment told to remove GoFundMe page
The lawyer for a female Toronto police officer alleging she was sexually harassed on the job is urging the force’s civilian police board to intervene, claiming his client had to delete a crowdfunding website after being threatened with professional consequences.
In a letter sent to the Toronto police board this week, Barry Swadron asks chair Andy Pringle and board members to “investigate the source of the threats” allegedly made to his client, Sgt. Jessica McInnis, that she may face a misconduct charge under Ontario’s Police Services Act if she didn’t take down her GoFundMe page.
The page was established by a friend of McInnis’ last week to help cover the legal costs of her ongoing human rights complaint alleging sexual harassment and a “poisoned, sexist” work environment within the Toronto Police Service.
According to Swadron’s letter to the board, soon after the page went up, she received information from her former police division — where she alleges the harassment occurred — that the page needed to be taken offline or “there would be penal consequences.”
“Needless to say, she was intimidated.” BARRY SWADRON LAWYER FOR SGT. JESSICA MCINNIS
“Needless to say, she was intimidated,” Swadron writes, saying the page was subsequently taken down.
He asks the board to probe the incident then “make it clear that Sgt. McInnis is free to reinstate it without penalty.”
Mark Pugash, spokesperson for Toronto police, said he cannot comment on specific cases where an officer may be under investigation by the professional standards unit.
He said there is no policy preventing officers from creating crowdfunding sites for various causes, but as with any online behaviour there may be consequences for unprofessional, offensive or illegal content.
Toronto police board chair Andy Pringle did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Late last year, McInnis initiated a complaint to the province’s human rights tribunal alleging gender discrimination within the Toronto police and sexual harassment by a colleague — her former police partner, Det. Mark Morris.
McInnis, a 43-year-old officer with 20 years at Toronto police, alleges Morris sent her a sent her a “steady barrage of unsolicited sexist, sexual, harassing and obscene messages.” She also claims he belittled and undermined her in front of colleagues.
Morris’s lawyer, David Butt, has said McInnis’s claims will be vigorously contested in the appropriate legal forum, calling them “false or deliberately misleading.”
Earlier this month, McInnis asked the Toronto Police Association if it might consider covering her legal fees, saying she expected to face an Sgt. Jessica McInnis alleges she was subjected to a “steady barrage of unsolicited sexist, sexual, harassing and obscene messages” by Det. Mark Morris. expensive and lengthy process.
Mike McCormack, president of the police union, said he does not discuss specific cases, but said generally the TPA does not provide funding for human rights cases. (According to Swadron’s letter, she has been told the TPA will not provide funding for the complaint.)