Hamilton police wants LGBTQ committee’s help to rebuild ‘trusting relationship’

Hamilton police want the city's LGBTQ advisory committee's help in repairing a significantly damaged" relationship after violence at Pride in 2019.

Police made the request in addressing the committee for the first time Tuesday after an independent report last year criticized the service's response to hate-fuelled violence at the festival in Gage Park.

We recognize that it may take years to rebuild a trusting relationship, and at this time I'd like to begin with an apology," acting Chief Frank Bergen said.

Bergen said he hoped the Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and asexual communities and police could collectively co-design next steps in what reconciliation and healing look like."

His apology echoed a mea culpa by now-retired chief Eric Girt in June 2020, when the police services board accepted lawyer Scott Bergman's independent review of how police responded to the clashes in Gage Park a year earlier.

The board accepted all 38 of the recommendations in Bergman's report, which found police's response was inadequate" in its deployment to the park and in its aftermath.

Members of the LGBTQ community and allies were outraged at the late arrival of police to Gage Park to quell a brawl between the disrupters and Pride Defenders," who used a large fabric banner to block the homophobic signs from celebrants.

During Tuesday's address, Bergen noted police have conducted a diversity and inclusion survey of service's members and created a new special event incident" command classification specific to Pride."

A recently hired equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) specialist and LGBTQ liaison officer are identifying gaps" in training, he added.

But police need the committee's help in guiding the process of community engagement," Bergen said. We know that there is distrust of police, and we believe for this process to work, a third party should be retained."

He asked for a list of people to administer a survey that asks what qualifications a facilitator - a recommendation of the review - should have to guide ongoing dialogue that needs to happen to determine how we can collectively move forward."

After Bergen's address, committee members turned their attention to questions that linger two years after the Pride violence.

They asked why police hadn't recommended charges be dropped against a Pride Defender whose case is still before the court.

That's up to the Crown, not police, Bergen said, but added: If mistakes were made, and mistakes that we have acknowledged, we have committed to a culture change."

Committee chair Cameron Kroetsch also asked which of two reports with contrary findings" police accepted: Bergman's critical review or an internal investigation that found the Pride operational response was sound?

So I'm wondering how you can square that for me."

Bergen said he couldn't offer a clear answer as to why they were different or divergent in their actual outcome" but noted police are committed to the 38 recommendations.

James Diemert joined Kroetsch in asking if Bergen and hate crime lead Det. Paul Corrigan had reported a trans person to the parole board for alleged breaches after a speech during a community forum at city hall three days after the Pride violence.

Bergen said that after media reports of the speech, the parole board did reach out to us," but it was the board's decision to revoke Cedar Hopperton's parole. (Hopperton had been on parole following a conviction related to an anti-gentrification vandalism spree on Locke Street South in 2018.)

Noting the community was at a standstill with no trust" of police, Lisa-Marie Johnston asked Det. Const. Rebecca Moran, the LGBTQ liaison officer, how the relations had eroded and what could be done to renew them.

The tumult of Pride 2019 led to the destruction of any communication that we had with the community," Moran said. And we know that that's a fractured relationship, and it's going to be a long road."

The committee noted it would have to deliberate further on police's request to help with consultation.

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com