How to end the impunity that infects policing

Open this photo in gallery:

Donna Yawching is a freelance writer based in Toronto.

When I first arrived in Toronto from the Caribbean, almost 50 years ago, I thought of the cops as the good guys. They were the people I’d approach for directions, as I learned how to navigate around my new world. Coming home late at night, a cop on the street was a reassuring sight; it made me feel safe. Nothing bad was likely to happen, I felt, if one was nearby.

Of course, those were the days when cops patrolled the neighbourhoods on foot, and were mostly unarmed. Their vision of themselves didn’t derive from American TV, featuring car chases and shootouts. They inspired confidence, not fear.

I’m not sure when that changed. I suppose it was in response to changing circumstances. Growing city, growing crime, growing prejudice – growing impunity.

As Toronto’s immigrant community expanded, the city’s police service changed too. It doesn’t matter, now, which came first in this chicken-or-egg situation. What is important is that, today, fewer people – certainly far fewer in those newcomer communities – trust the cops.

I’m a caramel-coloured minority – well-educated, well-spoken, moderately affluent, decently housed – and I have never been in trouble with the police. I’ve never been stopped (okay, one traffic ticket), never been carded, never been aggressed or roughed up or insulted. Police officers, on the rare occasions that I might need to address them, have been perfectly polite.

And yet.

I no longer feel protected by the police. I’ve heard too much. I’ve read too much. I’ve talked to too many people. Today, a cop represents a potential threat, to me and mine. When my mixed-race sons were teenagers, I warned them about the police, and I was secretly glad that they were fair-skinned. That made them so much safer; the cops would likely leave them alone.

Am I being unfair? Not really. If the image of the police has changed, it’s officers’ actions that have caused it. Entire communities, and entire generations of largely Black men, have lived in fear of police intervention.

I make no excuses for the criminals that do infest some of these communities. But neither will I make any excuses for the cops who accost young Black boys for no reason, treating them like garbage and brutalizing them if they object, or who terrorize and sometimes kill agitated folks with mental illnesses. The people we pay to occupy the high ground are betraying our trust every day – and, for the most part, getting away with it.

In the past, reports of police malfeasance brought forth fountains of political rhetoric about “one bad apple,” “exception to the rule,” “99 percent of cops are fantastic” – and the wider society has often been willing to believe it. But now, with the ubiquity of smartphones and social media, the truth is out. This isn’t a case of one or two bad apples. It’s a rotten barrel with fruit in various stages of decay. How did we get to this?

One word: Impunity. It has become the underlying principle of our policing – that cops should automatically be absolved when they commit an atrocity. After all, they’re The Good Guys, so whatever they do is justified.

But power corrupts, and power with impunity is the ultimate corrupter. Our cops have been almost untouchable. If they hurt or kill someone, the SIU does a reverse kangaroo court, and presto! – they are back out on the street. They won’t even lose a day’s pay.

If there is ever to be change, this is where it needs to start. Street demonstrations are all well and good, and politicians can take a knee for the cameras, but things always return to “normal.” What is needed is something much more unequivocal: automatic criminal charges, the same as any other Canadian would face.

Why should the police be above the laws they are hired to uphold? Unless it is a clear case of self-defence (and I don’t mean someone with scissors or a stapler or a pocketknife), a cop who is responsible for a death should automatically be charged with manslaughter, or possibly murder. A few jury trials would surely encourage them to adjust their approach.

There has been much talk of de-funding and reforming the police. These are long-term strategies that may or may not ever happen. Certainly, there will be reams of words before any action occurs. But getting rid of police impunity can be done almost instantly. Announce the policy, and implement it without delay. Change will swiftly follow.

This should be an integral part of the conversation that is currently underway.

Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter. Sign up today.