Stop Police Carding in Toronto!

Q: Is carding a violation of civil rights?

A: I think it is. So do former Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and the Law Union of Ontario. Obviously, the police would argue that carding is legal. But they paid for three legal opinions on carding with public funds, and then never released those opinions. I’d like to know what the police’s lawyers say about carding.

Q: Are you disappointed the first black chief of police supports carding in principle?

A: I’m disappointed that any person who claims to serve the public, black or otherwise, would support carding without providing hard evidence that it is legal and effective. My specific disappointment with Saunders is that he denies his own experiences as a black man who has himself been arbitrarily hassled by police. Saunders recently said he used to get stopped a lot because he wore his baseball cap backwards. Not only is this a ridiculous reason to stop someone, it sidesteps the fact that Saunders was probably stopped for the same reason that I’ve been stopped dozens of times: We are both black men.


http://www.torontosun.com/2015/06/03/desmond-cole-on-the-police-practice-of-carding