First,apologies for not getting to this story in a more timely fashion.As you are already aware if you've read my past entries,I was,and continue to be greatly disturbed,and yes,offended by the death of Charlie McGillivary at the hands of Toronto police in August of 2011.So much so,that today,five years later I'm not prepared to allow anyone to forget.Because disabled person's lives,like all lives matter.I have decided however to present a rather shortened version of what I had to say in response to this matter.
In my last entry,I indicated that I attended a pizza party/vigil/protest for Mr. McGillvary about a week after his fatal encounter with police.But that's not where it ended for me.There were maybe eighty people in attendance at this vigil,and it can best be described as a fond remembrance for a man who was rather well known in his community.I,however had never met the man.He was recognized by many at that vigil as "a gentle giant" and a "gentleman".In speaking to dozens of people,a picture emerged in my mind of a person who was what a great many disabled people tend to be by a largely uninformed populace-misunderstood.And,when I think about it,that doesn't make him so very different from most people.I think it can be safely said that he was tragically misunderstood by Toronto Police.
I've worked with disabled people,I count some among people who I respect,admire and love.And therein partly lies my interest.But a big part of it too was that the tragic events that befell Mr. McGillivary happened very close to home,in my neighborhood,along streets I pass every day.So,when I was invited to attend a protest rally at City Hall a few days later I went out of a sense of concerned duty.It was an eye opening experience.
Protest was very much in style in 2011,the year of The Occupy Movement.It was before the emergence of Black Lives Matter,but that's not to say that the sentiments of that movement were not clearly in evidence at the protest over Charlie McGillivary's death.Generally we paraded around,made a lot of noise,and took the time to speak with a good many people about our concerns.We demanded answers.We demanded,LOUDLY a full investigation,which was to be carried out as usual by The Special Investigations Unit,the body that investigates critical incidents involving police in the province of Ontario.Many of the protesters indicated a concern with the composition of The Special Investigations Unit,insofar as they claimed that it was constituted mainly of police,or former police personnel,and thus was over representative of police interests,as opposed to wider community concerns. As one of the more moderate of the protesters,I noted among my fellow citizens that if we wanted a capable,creditable investigation,we needed to rely on qualified,experienced investigators,and that often meant resorting to police as a necessary evil.That's not to say however that investigations should be carried out exclusively by police.Even I,as a moderated,given to diligent consideration of issues,tend to suspect bias when such investigations are carried out solely within a police culture.To be sure,though,I am not pointing the finger here at the Special Investigation Unit.Like all aspects of policing,it is a difficult and thankless job,but it does need to be done.
My biggest concern was ,and continues to be the ability,or even the inclination of The Special Investigations Unit to access outside help in completing it's work.Specifically in the case of Charlie McGillivary,I'm concerned that investigators may not have understood how disability in general and Mr.McGillivary's disability in particular played out in the tragic events being investigated.Because I'm certain this was not an ordinary police killing,if indeed there can ever be said to be such a thing.I'm still not convinced that all of my concerns in this regard have been answered to my satisfaction.
I've noted in my last entry that information now seems rather scanty on the Charlie McGillivary case.A few days after the events in question it was the talk of the town and a google search provided literally dozens,if not hundreds of related articles.Five years later,a similar search reveals much less material.To be sure you can find a basic outline of the case from beginning to end,but much less in the way of supplemental material.But,of course the ruling of the Special Investigations Unit was there.Mr.McGillivarys death was ruled to be an accident.And,because I've not been able to read the actual text of the ruling online,I do grudgingly accept that ruling.However,I wonder if given the intent that must be involved in undertaking policing,the results of such interactions can be considered to be accidental.In my view,we simply have to do better."No harm,no foul" is not the right answer.It's simply not good enough.It offends our community and is reflective of a negative value we put on the lives of disabled people,relative to the lives of others.
As a footnote,I should say that many of the protesters at City Hall were both much more experienced and more radical than myself.One of them even suggested that she would simply want police out of their neighborhoods completely and would be willing to accept any increased danger within the community as necessary if it achieved that end. For my part,I've not yet acquired that level of mistrust in those who police us.I hope I never do.
For what it's worth,I want to take note of a small but perhaps significant event that took place after the protest that day. My new found colleague suggested to me,as I was about to take my leave that I decide upon a route home and let her know just what that route was,in case of any "retaliation." I was not in the least concerned with this as a possible outcome of my militancy,but nevertheless decided to humor my friend,and provided her with my plans for a safe walk home.Upon arriving on my street,I noticed two police cruisers parked just south of my house.As I approached,an officer greeted me,in a not unfriendly way and asked where I was going."Home." I replied. "Where's home" he asked,but I just walked past and turned into my walkway,assuming his question would be answered.And indeed he did not make any further inquiry.While I don't know if this incident was at all connected to my presence at the City Hall protest,I do note it's seeming coincidence,and the fact that it's the only time I'd ever been approached by police in all the time I'd lived in that neighborhood.
blyndpapaya
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