Before Chief Mark Saunders and some of his senior officers did just that Friday at a protest at Yonge and Bloor, the debate had began on how they were going to tackle that?
For Toronto Police during this weekend of scheduled anti-black racism and brutality protests, and the anticipation of violence, people were wondering how they would answer that question. They answered it by kneeling down with protesters in downtown Toronto.
It was a historic moment in Toronto’s history.
My Command and I met protesters today and we took a knee. We see you and we are listening. The @TorontoPolice fully supports peaceful and safe protests this weekend and always. We have to all stay in this together to make change. #Toronto #PeacefulProtests pic.twitter.com/XM9Xd64irS
— Mark Saunders (@marksaunderstps) June 5, 2020
“My command and I met protesters today and we took a knee,” said Saunders in a tweet. “We see you and we are listening. The Toronto Police fully supports peaceful and safe protests this weekend and always. We have to all stay in this together to make change.”
The phenomenon of police and military joining protesters in signalling their outrage in the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis seems to be spreading. Officers have taken a knee in Portland and Charlotte in the United States, but this week the gesture happened twice here in Ontario, too.
First, on Tuesday, when Peterborough Police Chief Scott Gilbert and some of his officers took a knee. Then in Cobourg on Thursday where three officers offered support to hundreds demonstrating on behalf of justice for Floyd. Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf said he was “proud” his officers took part in an “organic” moment to show support and relay their objection to what happened to Floyd.
PROTEST UPDATE:
– Protest is traveling s/b Yonge Street now approaching Front Street
– All participants are being respectful to each other and officers who are there to keep everyone safe#PeacefulProtest #Toronto #Canada #GO1034456
^ep2
— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) June 5, 2020
And now, Saunders has partaken in the symbolic gesture.
The actions seem to have gone over well in most cities police chiefs have taken this route, but there have been criticisms, including from Rev. Corine Mack of NAACP who went to Facebook to say “don’t let the police join our protests.”
Her reaction raises many questions. Is police in uniform kneeling a sign of solidarity or surrender?
Most cops I talk with are very upset about Floyd being pinned down with a police officer’s knee on his neck for more than eight minutes and say they can’t imagine why someone on the scene didn’t let him up.
These are special circumstances, but things can also backfire as we learned 10 years ago to the month at the G20. The original order to stand down and let the Black Bloc wreak havoc later is an example of appeasement not working out so well.
Thank you to everyone who attended the #BlackLivesMatter Rally #Cobourg for working with #CobourgPoliceService to ensure a safe & peaceful space for respectful dialogue. We are committed to continuing to work with all partners for a safe and inclusive community. #COBOURGBLM pic.twitter.com/fHJYtZ1iHx
— Cobourg Police (@CobourgPolice) June 4, 2020
The iron fist response that followed created years of criticisms, investigations and discussions.
And now, a decade later, worried about what could transpire with this volatile time, store owners have boarded up their windows just in case. Saunders is hoping he and his officers taking a knee will take some of the anger out of the situation and avoid something similar to the G20 outcome.
Saunders and other Ontario police chiefs decided this is the time to not just be police officers, but active participants in change as well.
With their “knee” the ground, police are hoping this weekend will be a peaceful one with no one hurt.
Please share this
No comments:
Post a Comment