Supt Clarke’s misconduct ‘totally out of character’, witnesses say
Retired Toronto Police Service police chief Mark Saunders, retired TPS superintendent Dave McLeod, and former president of the Jamaican Canadian Association Audrey Campbell, were among the list of witnesses called to vouch for the character of embattled police superintendent, Jamaica-born Stacy Clarke.
Saunders said Clarke had a great record of being very good at whatever she does, her assignments were exception and no short-cuts taken. He described Clarke’s misconduct as being “totally out of character by any stretch of the imagination” and said her leadership was excellent.
Saunders noted that in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Clarke was responsible for building relationships with communities and therefore when 10,000 people marched in the city, Clarke provided leadership in her uniform and in ensuring safety among angry protesters who were willing to listen to her.
McLeod said Clarke’s conduct was an “absolute aberration” after years of seeing policies and discussions ad nauseum that amounted to nothing sustainable; he described what Supt Clarke did as “an act of desperation”. He said he was impressed with her work ethic and genuine desire to be fair.
Campbell said when the Police and Engagement Review(PACER) started, Supt Clarke helped to navigate the relationship between police officers and the community.
“What kept us at the table was Stacy held to her word. She never backed away from any issues.”
Campbell described Supt Clarke as “a beacon of integrity”. “Everybody has lapses in judgement that they regret; the thing is she didn’t do it for her, one of her actions were self-serving.”
DISRUPT SYSTEMS OF INEQUALITY
Speaking on the historical and cultural context of anti-black racism in Canada, Professor Wendell Adjetey of McGill University, an expert witness, said to exist as a black person in Canada “is to suffer the indignity of criminalisation and other forms of racial injustice. Hence to disrupt the systems of inequality and injustice often required law-abiding black people to disobey or challenge authority or the law.”
“The mere existence of black people in our institutions, especially as they achieve social mobility, triggers persecution, seldom protection. For black people, therefore, resisting white domination, resisting white supremacy and anti-blackness makes them enemies of the state rather than celebrated performers of Canadian society.”
He said the relevance of Clarke’s disciplinary hearing boils down to what he calls “strategic subterfuge” – the idea that institutions historically were created to exclude black, indigenous, and other people and there are copious reports, studies and investigations that never ever materialise into substantive change.
“These are the ways that the legacy of white domination lives in perpetuity. It never goes away; it just changes its countenance and so we have a context where black people are constantly butting heads.”
Holding back tears, Supt Clarke, a single mother of two, said the incident has been a challenge to her family especially after reading the social media posts and emails of some of her colleagues. A threatening email she received through an officer resulted in a threat assessment being done on her home.
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