Peel police apologize to Brampton man
Peel police have apologized to Isaac Williams on Tuesday. In August, he claimed he was racially profiled by officers when he was stopped and questioned in their search for a suspect.RICHARD LAUTENS/TORONTO STAR
By Brendan Kennedy
Peel police have apologized to a 60-year-old Brampton man who accused the force of racial profiling after he was locked in the back of a cruiser and “interrogated” by officers.
Isaac Williams, who emigrated from Jamaica in 1972, was detained and questioned on Aug. 12 while police searched for a break-and-enter suspect six inches shorter than Williams and one-third his age.
“I’m truly sorry that our interaction left you feeling as though you have been treated with anything less than the respect that you deserve,” Const. Samantha Emery told Williams in a written apology. She also apologized to Williams in person on Tuesday evening at a meeting facilitated by the police to resolve the complaint.
Williams said police officials told him that Emery — a rookie who joined the force in January — and the other officers involved in his detention will also undergo retraining.
The force did not, however, apologize or admit to racially profiling Williams, which was the heart of his complaint.
In an emailed statement Tuesday night, a Peel police spokesman said their internal investigation was complete and Williams was satisfied.
“When Mr. Williams’ complaint came to the attention of Chief (Mike) Metcalf, he immediately ordered an Internal Affairs investigation. The chief wanted to ensure that this matter received the attention it deserved.”
The statement did not include any details on the retraining Emery and the other officers will undergo.
Peel police have insisted in previous interviews the force does not tolerate racial profiling of any kind.
Williams had a heart transplant in May and had to be rushed to hospital hours after he was detained when he suffered chest pains and light-headedness as he tried to file a complaint at a nearby police station.
He said he was satisfied with the apology and commitment to retraining, despite the conspicuous absence of any racial element to the admission.
“I just care about my health and my well-being and everything,” Williams said after Tuesday’s meeting.
He said he did not hire a lawyer at any point in the process and although he has not formally dropped his complaint, he was not interested in pursuing the matter any longer. “I could go further, but it’s going to take a toll on me.”
Williams was on one of his prescribed daily walks on Dixie Rd., near Balmoral Dr., only a few minutes from his Lincoln Crt. home, when he says he was confronted and aggressively questioned by Emery.
“She was shouting at me, ‘Where you going? Where you coming from?’ ” he told the Star in August.
Williams said he volunteered his driver’s licence and explained to Emery he lived just around the corner. Williams even unbuttoned his shirt and showed the officer the large scar on his chest in an attempt to garner sympathy and to indicate he was no threat.
Williams was locked into the back seat of the cruiser for 10 to 15 minutes while Emery continued to question him aggressively. He said he could feel his heart rate rise and his pulse quicken. He was eventually released without charge, but says the stress from the incident led to his hospitalization later in the day.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Williams said the detectives who investigated his complaint told him that Emery detained him because his clothing matched those of the suspect — but Emery did not listen to the suspect’s full description on her police radio, notably his much younger age.
Peel Region lawyer Selwyn Pieters said Williams’ story “seems like a classic case of racial profiling.”
“That case is quintessential in that regardless of what your age is, regardless of what your status is and regardless of who you are, the police — and especially Peel police — typecast black men and treat black men in a way that’s unacceptable.”
Pieters said his experience with Peel police suggests that these cases “are not anomalies.”
After the Star published Williams’ story in August, Chief Metcalf wrote a Letter to the Editor calling into question the article’s fairness.
“I take issue with the Star’s biased and selective representation of the matter and the resulting impression of our organization that it leaves with your readers.”
Metcalf also took issue with a reference in the article to a 2007 Human Rights tribunal decision involving a former member of the force.
That year, the force was ordered to pay $20,000 in damages to Jacqueline Nassiah, after the Ontario Human Rights Commission ruled former Peel officer Richard Elkington had racially profiled her.
Metcalf said then he was “very disappointed” in the tribunal’s ruling and denied its assertion that his officers needed more race training.
Originally published on thestar.com
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