Tag Archives: toronto police

There’s still some bite in journalism

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By theilr on Flickr

“Journalists are society’s watchdogs.” The phrase seems so clichéd … and yet powerful investigative journalism is so important (and maybe even on the up and up!).

Given that it’s so expensive, time-consuming, and — frankly — quite risky, I am always happy to see in-depth and critical reporting.

In case you haven’t heard, the Star is currently publishing a series that is taking a closer look at  a rather sacred cow: the Special Investigations Unit. The SIU is a law enforcement agency, independent of the police, that investigates instances of serious injury, sexual assault, and/or death that involve police and civilians.

Michele Henry and David Bruser have highlighted some troubling cases (see list below) in which allegations against police have not been satisfactorily investigated. Predictably, this critical series has raised the ire of the Toronto Police Association and that of many readers.

But, aren’t we supposed to be holding power to account and asking these uncomfortable questions? Isn’t the opposing idiom (journalists as lapdogs) much more disconcerting?

I think so, despite my many pleasant encounters with both police officers and representatives from the SIU. Kathy English, the Star’s Public Editor, also thinks so.

English makes a compelling argument for exploring this inflammatory issue.
Her reflection is an absolute must-read for those interested in public service journalism, and all the turbulence it entails.

The Star’s watchdog mandate

By Kathy English, Public Editor

Excerpt:

…Is the Toronto Star “anti-police”? Is this hard-hitting investigative series “a cop-bashing vendetta” and “junk journalism” as the Toronto Police Association charged in a press release responding to the Star’s investigation?

As I told readers this week, the Star has long been “pro-justice,” not “anti-police.” In reporting such strong evidence of a lack of results and little accountability from the SIU, the Star’s series exposes and holds to further account some officers who were investigated by the SIU. It is not an indictment of all police…

…

As one of the most powerful institutions in our midst, police should face scrutiny by the media acting as surrogates for citizens. Probing the SIU, which was created in 1990 after a series of police shootings of black civilians, is well in line with the media’s watchdog mandate.

“A review after 20 years of an organization like the SIU is completely appropriate and exactly the sort of thing newspapers need to do, should do and in the case of the Star, do all the time,” Kevin Donovan the Star’s Investigations editor said. “Sadly, many police have taken the position that we do not have the right to review their actions or the actions of the SIU.

Continue reading…

More from the series:


From the breaking news desk: July 9 – 12

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Photo by dfinnecy on Flickr

It was a very grim series of shifts this time around. Many tragedies and close calls.
Here’s the latest list of breaking news stories that I authored.

Child choked by window blind cord
A 5-year-old Pickering boy is in critical but stable condition after getting tangled up in a cord attached to window blinds.

Dangerous sex offender may be hiding in Toronto
The 71-year-old fugitive is considered violent and at high risk to reoffend, according to police.

Toddler in hospital after being pulled from pond
The baby was pulled from a pond north of Ajax at around 10 a.m. Sunday.

School bus set ablaze in North York
The school bus was gutted by the flames, but nearby Zion Heights Junior High spared.

Human remains identified as Bracebridge woman
The remains of a 32-year-old woman were discovered at a cottage in Bracebridge on July 5.

2 Toronto men die in separate drownings
Police say a 31-year-old drowned in the Wasaga Beach area and an 84-year-old died in Gravenhurst.

Severe thunderstorm warning lifted for Toronto
Severe weather warning lifted for numerous regions in Southern Ontario, but warnings imposed again for London, Middlesex, Oxford and Brant.

Man drowns at Wasaga Beach
Natural bodies of water pose a greater risk to swimmers at all levels, according to the Lifesaving Society.

Police bust marijuana operation southeast of Peterborough
Officers from a tactics and rescue team found two men asleep and holding weapons as they entered the home.

Spot blackouts dim three Toronto neighbourhoods
A spokesperson for Toronto Hydro said more people than usual complained over the spot blackouts Friday.

Police believe that the woman is responsible for previous incidents of sewing needles being inserted into various brands of sausages.
Police release video of suspect wanted in car wash slaying
Images of a baseball-cap wearing suspect were captured by several cameras around the crime scene.
Marchers to protest G20 police actions; traffic delays expected
Activists plan to march along main streets from their meeting place at Queen’s Park to Simcoe Park at 2 p.m.
Markham man pleads guilty in collision that killed teen
The convicted 23-year-old faces two years in jail after rear-ending the 16-year-old driver of a minibike in 2009.

The Soft Interrogation Room

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The infamous catwalk near Albion Mall, as it is perceived.

For the first time in our twenty minute interview, I say something to displease the burly police officer: “I often walk home alone at night. I’ve never had a problem.”

His stern facial expression conveys more displeasure than does his simple warning, “You shouldn’t do that in this area, you know…especially not through that catwalk.” I nod obediently, trying not to look at the closed-circuit camera in the corner of the room.

Before this, I had never been inside 23rd division, the large new police station across from the Albion mall, but I’d heard about it long before the building wore the official crest of the Toronto police.

The neighbourhood had been alight with chatter. I remember two women talking about it as we waited for the bus. One said, stony faced, “Now our boys have some new best friends. Real good at takin’ care of our kinda neighbourhood.” The other woman sucked her teeth.

I have definitely never been inside a “soft interrogation room”.

The word “soft” doesn’t do much to make the idea of an “interrogation room” less intimidating. The tiny grey space features little more than a round table, three chairs, and the conspicuous camera. The officer is writing down everything I say, word by word. The pencil looks like a toothpick in his large hand.

I feel nervous.

“So, repeat that last detail again. Where did you find the knives?” He asks.

“I found them in a round flower patch…well, I guess it’s not really a flower patch because it only has a shrub in it.” I speak slowly, awkwardly, trying to curb my tendency to chatter. Every word matters.

“What time was it?” He asks.

“Well,” I gulp, uncertain, “It must have been around 9:15 am because I started work at 9:00 and I was sent outside to clean almost as soon as I walked in.” I pause, still trying not to babble.

I remember that morning clearly: Winter was ending and the snow outside Albion library had visibly melted.  A season’s worth of garbage, strewn over our lawns and walkways, lay exposed in the soft daylight. My meticulous supervisor, Sue, had approached me as I walked through the door to begin my shift.

“Fabiola, would you mind being upgraded to caretaker? It looks terrible outside,” She said, wringing her hands. I agreed, thinking of the pay increase and mild weather.

As I swept broken bottles and fast-food containers into a large bag, I thought about the latest gossip from the staff room. A teenage boy had stumbled into the library the day before. He had been stabbed on the catwalk. One of my co-workers speculated about his gang affiliation. Another claimed that he was a victim, an unfortunate kid who was attacked for his iPod. All I knew for sure was that the boy had been taken to the hospital.

I glanced at the catwalk where it had happened, mere steps from where I was now sweeping up bright flyers and pop cans.

As I approached a flower bed–or shrub bed, I guess–I sighed heavily. There was a large plastic sheet tucked into the dirt. I came at it with a rake-like tool and ripped it away from the shrub.

That’s when I had discovered the two kitchen knives.

Alarmed, I had rushed inside to tell Sue, who only looked even more anxious at the news. The police were called but did not show up until much later when I was shelving books.

“Fabiola, a policeman is here,” said Sue, trying to sound calm.

The officer that greeted me had the knives wrapped in a sheet of scrap paper. I tried not to stare at them or ask why they weren’t in a CSI-style plastic bag. He asked me my name, age, address, phone number, etc, etc, and wrote down my statement. Then he scooped up the evidence and left.

Yes, that had been the end of winter.

Returning my thoughts to summertime and the soft interrogation room, I ask the current officer if the knives have been linked to the stabbing and he says, gently but firmly, that he can’t release that information. I nod to show that I understand but wonder why they would call me had there been no connection.

Suddenly another brawny man enters the room. The two joke around like old chums before the first one turns to me and says, “Ok, miss, now tell him what you told me” and leaves.  The new officer sits down with a big smile on his face and another pencil in his hand. I draw in a deep breath. Well, this is certainly no rapid-paced episode of CSI.

I would never find out what happened to the knives, my three testaments or the boy.

Note: I wrote this short non-fiction piece in the summer of 2008.