Hamilton police launch probe into ‘defund’ protest
Response to painting of street is heavy-handed, anti-racism advocate says “If people are feeling comfortable enough to affix graffiti or paint or anything like that onto statues or onto our roadways, that is a criminal code offence or mischief.” FRANK BE
A city contractor has removed the yellow paint and police are investigating after demonstrators emblazoned their “defund” message in jumbo letters on Main Street West.
For some, it was an act of vandalism that bottled up traffic as protesters used rollers to paint their block letters outside Hamilton’s city hall as the police board met Thursday afternoon.
For others, the demonstration was yet another creative call to action for police reform in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in the United States, as well as deadly interactions between police and civilians in Canada.
On Friday, local police had little to say about the case.
“The Hamilton Police Service has commenced a criminal investigation into the mischief that occurred yesterday on the roadway in front of city hall,” spokesperson Const. Jerome Stewart wrote in an email.
In a conference call Thursday evening, deputy chief Frank Bergen referred to a “fine line” that separates lawful protests and criminal behaviour.
“Our job is crime prevention,” Bergen told reporters. “And if people are feeling comfortable enough to affix graffiti or paint or anything like that onto statues or onto our roadways, that is a criminal code offence or mischief.”
Kojo Damptey countered Friday that the demonstrators should “definitely not” be the subject of a criminal investigation.
“People are allowed to ask their government for accountability,” said Damptey, who leads the Hamilton Centre for
Civic Inclusion.
“Why should people then be criminalized?”
Coun. Maureen Wilson declined to comment on the “defund” protest directly because of the ongoing police probe.
But Wilson, who has voiced support for police reform, noted civil disobedience has punctuated pivotal moments in history.
“It usually happens at a point where other avenues are no longer seen as helpful or legitimate, or they’re constructed in such a way that they don’t work.”
Coun. Lloyd Ferguson said Friday there should be a criminal investigation into the protest.
“It was a bunch of hooligans out blocking off our main road, spreading graffiti with paint that made the road dangerous … and it’s an act of vandalism or at least mischief,” said the former police board chair.
Not long after the more than 100 protesters left their “Defund the police” mark on Main Street West, the city moved to have the paint removed.
In an email, spokesperson Jen Recine said the city would remove the paint that afternoon “out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of motorist safety.”
Recine said the city “supports the public’s right to protest,” but the household paint used on Main West could cause the road to become “slippery” and pose a hazard.
Damptey rejected this, citing how a troubling friction study on the crash-prone Red Hill Valley Parkway was mysteriously hidden for years. “So what kind of public safety are they concerned about?”
The issue is now the subject of a multimillion-dollar judicial inquiry.
Hamilton’s demonstration — where participants chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “defund, disarm, dismantle” — took a page from similar rallies where protesters painted messages on streets, including in Toronto.
Protesters there painted “defund the police” in large pink letters on College Street outside the Toronto Police Service headquarters on June 19.
The city removed paint from the road on July 7 and later paintings on the sidewalk nearby July 11, a spokesperson noted.
In Hamilton, Ferguson said protesters just can’t walk out in the middle of a street and block traffic.
“If you want to protest, get a permit from the city and go the (city hall) forecourt.
“That’s what it’s there for,” he added.
But Wilson raised the question of “disproportionately” resourced police responses to disturbances.
She recalled taking part in rallies last summer in the city hall forecourt to counter regular anti-immigration demonstrations there.
At one in August, an old school bus — with a sign in the window warning about “foreigners” — hopped the curb right in front of her and other counterprotesters.
“It was a very dangerous situation. I don’t think any charges were levelled,” Wilson said.
Bergen later told the police board that officers “used their discretion” instead of issuing a Highway Traffic Act violation.