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Ok #HamOnt, I want to run down a few bits of local history that feel kinda relevant right now in case anyone missed them at the time. Keep in mind this list is far from comprehensive: (1)
Ok #HamOnt, I want to run down a few bits of local history that feel kinda relevant right now in case anyone missed them at the time. Keep in mind this list is far from comprehensive: (1)
August 15, 2003: While chasing a (white) suspect, police arrest Michael Dixon (black), at the GO station downtown and refuse to check his alibi. Dixon went on to win a large lawsuit against the department(2) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2011/05/25/judge-rakes-cops-over-the-coals-for-wrongful-arrest.html
April 6, 2007: Soun Saing, 46, a Cambodian refugee was fatally shot by police during a confrontation outside an east-end pool hall. The SIU investigation found no wrongdoing.(3) https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dead-mans-family-question-police-shooting/article682984/
2008-2009: Hamilton police begin to list themselves among victimized groups in their yearly hate crimes reports, documenting anti-police graffiti as a hate crime. They also highlight local protest movements as "areas of concern".(4) https://www.hamiltonnews.com/news-story/5413812-is-activism-a-hate-crime-police-report-identifies-protests-as-concern/
June 26, 2008: Djo Bwabwa Kalamba, 20, dies when store employees and random citizens chase him down and sit on him, preventing him from breathing. He was accused of stealing a $15 auto part from the Canadian Tire on Upper James (5) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2009/09/18/shoplifter-dies-after-guard-tackles-him.html
February 23, 2010: Kenneth Lyon jumps to his death from an apartment balcony moments after being placed under arrest. Officers knew ahead of time that had been flagged as a suicide risk, but the inquest found no wrongdoing.(6) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2011/09/07/inquest-into-fatal-balcony-plunge-closed.html
May 4, 2010: Po La Hay, a refugee from Myanmar is severely injured during a wrong-address drug raid. Officers are charged but not convicted, tho the Judge's remarks about "the spectre of a police cover-up" are oft-quoted in the press. (7) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2012/05/01/po-la-hay-ends-lawsuit-over-botched-police-raid.html
It should be noted here that one of the cops involved in Hay's case, Ryan Tocher, was also one of the cops who shot Soun Saing in 2007.(8)
February 2, 2011: Andreas Chinnery, 19, is shot dead while home alone in his Barton St. apartment after officers respond to a call about shouting and banging from neighbours. A coroner's inquest would go on to make 18 recommendations to the force.(9) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/andreas-will-never-be-forgotten-chinnery-family-reflects-after-inquest-1.3487771
February 14, 2011: James Kiteley, 36, dies of asphyxiation when homeowners (allegedly) catch him burgling their house and hold him on the ground until police arrive.(10) https://www.hamiltonnews.com/news-story/2268257-coroner-calls-for-inquest-in-death-of-suspected-burglar/
December 13, 2011: Another wrong-address drug-raid smashes into the home of Pamela Markland and her five kids at 5am, then refuse to admit the black family was wrongly targeted. Years of protests and court battles follow. (11) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2019/12/13/hamilton-family-settles-lawsuit-for-being-targeted-in-botched-2011-raid.html
February 12, 2012: Rikki Jeremiah, a Caribbean immigrant and preacher is arrested by the ACTION Team for refusing to provide his identification while sitting in his parked car in a "high crime area". He went on to win a wrongful arrest lawsuit. (12) https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/court-awards-hamilton-man-49k-in-case-against-hamilton-police/275639
February 13, 2012: Phonesay Chanthachak, 27, is shot dead by Ryan Tocher after failing to appear in court. This marks the third time that Tocher has come under SIU scrutiny for the beating or death of a South-Asian man.(13) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/controversial-officer-at-centre-of-inquest-into-fatal-police-shooting-1.1336153
June 7, 2013: Steve Mesic, 45 and father-to-be, is shot dead by police in a state of severe mental/emotional distress after leaving a psych ward. His widow went on to sue the police (14) https://www.thespec.com/news/crime/2014/05/31/the-steve-mesic-story.html
September 2014: shredded tickets lead to an investigation of the ACTION Team for writing tens of thousands of dollars in tickets to two dozen homeless people and panhandlers downtown. Four are charged but none are convicted. (15) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/action-cops-police-the-same-25-people-day-in-day-out-sergeant-testifies-1.3851779
September 2015: Chief De Caire ignites controversy by forwarding a letter to officers that contains the line "I believe it is time for these black kids to stop blaming police and take responsibility..."(16) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/police-diversity-trainer-says-de-caire-should-apologize-for-racially-charged-email-1.3228040
October 2015: Chief De Care ignites further controversy with declaration that new provincial regulations around carding will make Hamilton "less safe".(17) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/hamilton-police-chief-limiting-carding-will-make-hamilton-less-safe-1.3281853
February 4, 2016: Jonathan Styres, 28, of Six Nations, is shot dead by Peter Khill over a suspected auto-theft in progress. Khill was charged with murder but acquitted, a ruling which has since been overturned. (18) https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-peter-khill-gta-homeowner-who-gunned-down-car-thief-to-be-tried/
April 26, 2016: @MatthewGreenNDP, Hamilton's first black City Councilor (now MP), gets carded while waiting for a bus, igniting a firestorm of controversy. The officer involved was charged under the police act but found not guilty.(19) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2016/04/27/black-city-councillor-matt-green-says-police-carded-him-in-confrontational-incident.html
September 30, 2016: Anthony Divers, 36, is fatally shot by police while unarmed and in a state of extreme distress/intoxication. Divers, who was wanted for assault, had been reported to be armed earlier that day(20) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2017/08/11/police-officer-cleared-in-downtown-shooting-death.html
April 3, 2018: Quinn MacDougall, 19, is shot and killed by police in a state of extreme emotional distress outside his mountain home. He had called police 3 times to say he was in fear for his life.(21) https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2019/04/18/siu-report-offers-little-closure-for-family-of-slain-hamilton-teen.html
October 20, 2018: Robyn Garlow, 30, is fatally shot in her apartment by police while holding a knife and "not of sound mind". The family had called police for help.(22) https://www.chch.com/woman-identified-victim-police-shooting-hamilton/
June 15, 2019: Clashes erupt when far-right demonstrators attempt to disrupt the Pride festival in Gage Park. Police, grumpy about being denied a recruiting booth, are accused by multiple complaints of refusing to intervene.(23) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/violence-hamilton-pride-complaint-1.5220932
June 22, 2020: Cedar Hopperton, local activist and member of the trans community is arrested after making fiery comments at a public meeting about the Pride fiasco, igniting further controversy.(24) https://www.thespec.com/news/crime/2019/07/09/cedar-hopperton-hamilton-lgbtq-activist-denied-parole-on-pride-allegations.html
Police would go on to arrest other activists from Pride. Far right demonstrations would go on weekly at City Hall for the rest of the year and beyond.(25)
There’s so much more to say about every one of these cases – the families’ pain, the inquests and lawsuits, the controversies and countless angry marches on the central station. These aren’t the only stories, either.(26)
In conclusion, it does happen here. It’s not new. It’s not just America. Hamilton has all the same problems with racial profiling, politicized policing, citizen vigilantism, and use of deadly force on people in crisis. We can and must do better. (end)
