August 11, 2003
Front-line personnel on Toronto’s blueline are smarting from the result of the Toronto Star’s continuing campaign against police.
It was almost a year ago when the Star’s series on police racial profiling hit headlines.
Ever since, there has been an increase of incidents where police attending urban crime scenes are being harassed.
In the latest incident, police were pelted with bottles and verbal abuse while investigating a pair of shootings that coincided with Toronto’s Caribana Festival. The outspoken Chief Julian Fantino was first off the mark, saying he would not allow his officers to become "punching bags."
Although no officers were injured in the 3:30 Sunday morning incident, which began when police responded to two separate shootings near Yonge and Gerrard, police morale was once again the first casualty.
After arriving on the scene, officers were met with insults and struck with objects thrown by people in the crowd.
Toronto Police Association President Craig Bromell worries about the changing attitudes toward police.
"Why these people turn on police I don’t know," he said. "There are people out there who can assist us, but these people don’t even offer us any information when it comes to solving a shooting or a homicide--we get very little co-operation.
"If we could find people to come forward with information, (the people who assaulted the officers) would be arrested for this."
A trend of disrespect and hostility towards the Toronto Police Service exists among certain people, groups, and areas of the city, says Bromell.
The chief, who vowed to act aggressively in similar incidents, came right out and said hostility against police started with the Toronto Star.
But perhaps Bromell was right when he said any attempt to make an arrest in such a situation would only expose police to greater danger.
Seven thousand police officers were only doing their jobs when they were smeared as racists in the Toronto Star racial profiling series. Imagine the results if uniformed police officers actually did something that could even be perceived as wrong by the same newspaper.
Canada’s largest mass daily is doing nothing for the community at large, or for public safety, when it leaves our police force to face a hostile environment.