We were met with lines of cops and a trespass order against the organization that stipulated that OCAP would not be allowed to attend the public meeting being held. The real question is who was allowed into the so-called public meeting? The meeting was made up of the yuppie residents and business associations of the neighborhood. It was not made up of Regent Park residents, or people from the streets, or OCAP. We know who these cops protect and that was made clear once again last night. What was also made clear last night was that these town halls are a PR sham and that Fantino and his force are too cowardly to meet face to face with any sort of criticism.
The only reason that was given for not letting OCAP activists in was that there were "security concerns." It is only with the utmost of arrogance that a force known for its racism, brutality and indifference to life would express any kind of "concern" about unarmed activists that simply want to talk to them. It is obvious that their actions are motivated by politics; Fantino has consistently ignored or insulted everyone in past meetings that has tried to address abuses by the police department. Most of the time he doesn't even see the need to lie his way out of a tough situation; he sees the concerns people are raising as a joke.
For years, members of nearly every community in the city have brought allegations of racial profiling against the Toronto police. The Commission on Systemic Racism in the Ontario Criminal Justice System has ruled that racial profiling does occur - Fantino says the number of racist cops are "a few bad apples." Large numbers have died at the hands of the police force. It is a fact of life for people on the streets that assaults by police officers, verbal disrespect and purposeful humiliation are common occurances. Fantino doesn't even feel the need to lie about the behaviour of police on this issue - he simply refuses to address it. At the town hall meeting for 11 and 14 divisions, Fantino and Bill Blair actually laughed and smugly said "we're not talking about this today" when a man showed enlarged pictures of how his son had been brutalized by 11 division cops.
The behaviour of this department and it's arrogant, politically-motivated hierarchy have been a disgrace to our city - and particularly to the Regent Park area - for too long. It is OCAP's position that to properly address the abuses that have taken place, it is past the time of negotiation, it is past the time of patience and second chances, it is for reasons of safety, dignity and survival, the time to mobilize and win against the cops and those they really 'serve and protect'. It is what we have done for over a decade, and our plans for the future are only to escalate the fight against the police and their blatant lack of respect for poor and marginalized people.
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty 517 College Street, Suite 234 Toronto, Ontario M5G 4A2 416-925-6939 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ocap.ca
Link: http://ocap.ca
