by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
December 17, 2004
Last week the Toronto Police Services settled an outstanding lawsuit brought by several women who were in the "Pussy Palace" when it was raided by police on September 15, 2000. The suit against the police was brought, alleging that the rights of the approximately 300 women who were in attendance were violated by five male police officers who conducted the raid. as part of the settlement all police officers, from the chief on down, will take more gay, lesbian and transgendered sensitivity training.
On December 18, the Toronto Star reported on Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino’s "attack" on the settlement. In the article by Catherine Porter, Fantino is quoted as saying that the police force is already conscious about diversity and is sensitive and that the requirement for more sensitivity training is a duplication of what is now being done on the force and an "unnecessary overreaction".
On the newspaper’s website the article was accompanied by a picture of Chief Fantino, standing behind a podium at Toronto Police headquarters. The colouring of the picture was such that Fantino’s white shirt had a definite pinkish hue; in fact the shirt appeared to be a pink one.
The Toronto Star; no fan of the cops in general and Fantino in particular, at least showed that they have a sense of humour. But then again, perhaps the chief’s shirt really was pink--part of the being sensitive to the gay, lesbian and transgendered community. With David Miller as mayor and far leftist councillor Pam McConnell as Police Services Board chair, pink uniforms are hardly beyond the realm of possibility.
and if anyone feels badly for Fantino in his dress pinks, forget it. This is the same Julian Fantino who posed on the cover of Fab, a Toronto gay magazine as the cop from the group The Village People.