NEWSTALK 1010 host and black activist, Desmond Cole had the camera running when he saw several cruisers swarm a man on the sidewalk on Spadina, north of Dundas.
Through the video, he claims the man is being searched by police and he wants to make sure that the person knows his rights.
Cole claims the man was being searched, but you don't see that on the video. It also doesn't show what sparked the original police investigation, nor does it show the original interaction with the citizen.
Following the ordeal on Sunday, Cole did contact the Toronto Police and did receive a response. Both are posted below.
ORIGINAL LETTER FROM DESMOND COLE
Good afternoon Victor,
The following is my account of an incident I witnessed yesterday:
At approximately 5:25 p.m. I witnessed several Toronto police officers surrounding a young man on the sidewalk of east side of Spadina Avenue, just north of Dundas Street. The man had his hands raised in the air. I approached the scene. I could hear one of the officers questioning the young man about his middle name, and about his address. There seemed to be some discrepancy between what the man was saying, and the information police had about his identity.
One officer, who appeared to be running the man's name through a computer in his vehicle, went back and forth between where the man was standing, and his computer screen inside the car. As police questioned him, the young man repeatedly asked officers, "why are you making this about me?" He also said, "I'm the one who called you."
An officer was searching through a backpack that belonged to the man. I took photos of the officer conducting his search. I then witnessed this officer performing a pat-down search of the young man's pockets, and physically reaching into the man's pockets to search him. It was at this point that I informed the man that if he did not wish to be searched, he could tell the officer so.
Several officers, including the one conducting the search, then turned their attention towards me. The officer who had been conducting the search identified himself to me as "officer Peters, 7979."
Peters asked me, "do you know what this investigation is all about sir?" After I informed Peters that I didn't wish to speak to him, he repeated his question, and then reached out in an attempt to grab my phone, which I was using to film the interaction. This was a clear attempt to intimidate me, and to take my property.
Several other officers scolded me and shouted insults at me during this time, calling me "ignorant" and telling me I don't know the law. Peters and at least two other officers then walked the young man several feet north on Spadina, and spoke to him on the porch of a storefront. After a brief conversation, the officers escorted the young man to a police vehicle. He sat down in the back seat on the passenger's side of the vehicle.
Peters said to me, "do you want to ask him where he's going? Just ask him where he's going." I approached the vehicle and asked the man if he was okay. He said "I'm good." Again, Peters told me to ask the man where police were taking him. The man replied to me, "I'm going home, thanks." An officer then closed the door. and the car drove north on Spadina.
Another officer then approached me, asking me to turn off my camera so he could explain to me what happened. "We'll talk like grown men," the officer told me. I told him I would continue filming for my own safety. The officer then offered the following explanation about the incident.
"So the reason we're here, is he phoned 911 saying that he got stabbed," the officer said of the young man. "That's why 15 police officers showed up, and two ambulances showed up." I asked him why, if that was the case, the young man was being searched an interrogated. "When we got here, through the investigation, the gentleman--we couldn't figure out who he was," the officer replied. He went on to explain that officers were simply trying to ensure the gentleman was okay and "mentally healthy." He said everything was fine and officers were taking the man home.
When I asked again why police would need to search and question a man to make sure he was okay, he replied, "you'd have to ask them," referring to his colleagues."
Victor, I note that the man being questioned and searched was Black. He was clearly frightened and confused with the officer's treatment of him. I was scared for him, and I'm disgusted at the degrading treatment I received from several officers at that scene, especially Peters, and another officer who repeatedly told me I am ignorant.
Police continue to tell us that the practice of street checks, or carding, has been ended or suspended. That's not what I saw yesterday. I saw a young man who, according to police, called them for assistance, and subsequently had his name run through a police database, was detained, had his bag searched, and had his person searched by officer Peters. This behaviour is consistent with the kind of detention, search, and documentation civilians have condemned as a violation of our protections under several sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
I will be documenting this incident in tomorrow's edition of the Toronto Star. I'm requesting your feedback regarding:
-the improper street check and searches performed on the young man
-the verbal abuse I received from officers
-the attempt by officer Peters to confiscate my phone (his action is clearly documented in my video).
Please respond as soon as possible - I am filing this story this afternoon for tomorrow's edition of the paper. Thanks for your time.
~Desmond
FROM Victor Kwong Toronto Police Communications
At approximately 5:25 p.m. CALL WAS RECEIVED AT 5:03 P.M. FOR A STABBING I witnessed several Toronto police officers surrounding a young man on the sidewalk of east side of Spadina Avenue, just north of Dundas Street. The man had his hands raised in the air. THE SUBJECT WAS UNCOOPERATIVE WITH POLICE AND DIDN’T KNOW WHY WE SHOWED UP WHEN HE ASKED FOR AMBULANCE. I approached the scene. I could hear one of the officers questioning the young man about his middle name, and about his address. There seemed to be some discrepancy between what the man was saying, and the information police had about his identity.THERE WAS A DISCREPANCY WITH THE NAME HE GAVE AND HIS TRUE IDENTITY.
One officer, who appeared to be running the man's name through a computer in his vehicle, went back and forth between where the man was standing, and his computer screen inside the car. As police questioned him, the young man repeatedly asked officers, "why are you making this about me?" He also said, "I'm the one who called you." STABBING CALLS ARE DYNAMIC AND WE CANNOT TAKE WHAT IS SAID AT FACE VALUE. IT MUST BE INVESTIGATED.
An officer was searching through a backpack that belonged to the man. THIS WAS TO GET TRUE IDENTITY AND CONFIRM THERE WERE NO WEAPONS AT A WEAPONS CALL. I took photos of the officer conducting his search. I then witnessed this officer performing a pat-down search of the young man's pockets, and physically reaching into the man's pockets to search him. THIS WAS ALSO TO CONFIRM THERE WERE NO WEAPONS AT A WEAPONS CALL. It was at this point that I informed the man that if he did not wish to be searched, he could tell the officer so. THIS IS THE WRONG ADVICE. OFFICERS HAVE THE RIGHT WHEN IT’S A WEAPONS CALL.
Several officers, including the one conducting the search, then turned their attention towards me. The officer who had been conducting the search identified himself to me as "officer Peters, 7979."
Peters asked me, "do you know what this investigation is all about sir?" After I informed Peters that I didn't wish to speak to him, he repeated his question, and then reached out in an attempt to grab my phone, which I was using to film the interaction. This was a clear attempt to intimidate me, and to take my property. AFTER IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THERE WERE NO WEAPONS AND THAT THE SUBJECT WAS THE VICTIM, THE OFFICERS DID NOT WANT A VIDEO OF A VICTIM PUBLICIZED.
Several other officers scolded me and shouted insults at me during this time, calling me "ignorant" and telling me I don't know the law. Peters and at least two other officers then walked the young man several feet north on Spadina, and spoke to him on the porch of a storefront. After a brief conversation, the officers escorted the young man to a police vehicle. He sat down in the back seat on the passenger's side of the vehicle. THIS IS TRUE.
Peters said to me, "do you want to ask him where he's going? Just ask him where he's going." I approached the vehicle and asked the man if he was okay. He said "I'm good." Again, Peters told me to ask the man where police were taking him. The man replied to me, "I'm going home, thanks." An officer then closed the door. and the car drove north on Spadina. THIS IS TRUE. IN FACT, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OFFICERS AND THE SUBJECT WENT FROM UNCOOPERATIVE TO PLEASANT. THE INTERACTION WAS CAPTURED ON IN-CAR CAMERA WHEN THE SUBJECT THEN ASKED THE OFFICERS TO DRIVE HIM TO WHERE HE WANTED TO GO.
Another officer then approached me, asking me to turn off my camera so he could explain to me what happened. "We'll talk like grown men," the officer told me. I told him I would continue filming for my own safety. The officer then offered the following explanation about the incident.
"So the reason we're here, is he phoned 911 saying that he got stabbed," the officer said of the young man. "That's why 15 police officers showed up, and two ambulances showed up." I asked him why, if that was the case, the young man was being searched an interrogated. "When we got here, through the investigation, the gentleman--we couldn't figure out who he was," the officer replied. He went on to explain that officers were simply trying to ensure the gentleman was okay and "mentally healthy." He said everything was fine and officers were taking the man home. THIS IS TRUE
When I asked again why police would need to search and question a man to make sure he was okay, he replied, "you'd have to ask them," referring to his colleagues." THIS WAS A WEAPONS CALL. THE SUBJECT WAS NOT COOPERATIVE AT FIRST.
Victor, I note that the man being questioned and searched was Black. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THE RACE OF THE SUBJECT WAS EVER MENTIONED. THIS WAS NOT EVEN MENTIONED IN THE COMPUTER ASSISTED DISPATCH LOG. He was clearly frightened and confused with the officer's treatment of him. I was scared for him, and I'm disgusted at the degrading treatment I received from several officers at that scene, especially Peters, and another officer who repeatedly told me I am ignorant.
Police continue to tell us that the practice of street checks, or carding, has been ended or suspended. That's not what I saw yesterday. THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU SAW YESTERDAY. OFFICERS WILL ASK FOR, AND RECORD INFORMATION OF SUSPECTS AND VICTIMS OF CRIME. I saw a young man who, according to police, called them for assistance, and subsequently had his name run through a police database, was detained, had his bag searched, and had his person searched by officer Peters. THIS IS TRUE AND JUSTIFIED. This behaviour is consistent with the kind of detention, search, and documentation civilians have condemned as a violation of our protections under several sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT THE LAW.