Racism and police brutality are often invisibilized when they happen across the border, in Canada. Activist and journalist Desmond Cole is trying to change that. Pls read.
‘Two years ago, on December 28, 2016, Toronto police officer Michael Theriault and his brother Christian attacked Dafonte Miller, then 19 years old, with a metal pipe. Police in Toronto and Durham conspired to cover up the crime, and charged Dafonte with assault.
The Theriault brothers, who were sitting in their father’s garage in Whitby, Ontario, chased Dafonte and his friends, who were walking at night minding their business. Michael Theriault was not on duty. The beating led to Dafonte being hospitalized—he ultimately lost his left eye.
[…] John Theriault, the father of the attackers, is also a Toronto police officer—he coincidentally works for the department tasked with contacting the SIU when an officer is suspected of hurting a civilian. Dafonte’s lawyer says John Theriault personally intervened to protect his sons.
Both Durham and Toronto police have failed to hold any officers accountable for covering up the assault against Dafonte. A Waterloo police investigation into the incident has not been released in the 18 months since the attack. Toronto mayor John Tory and the Toronto police board have failed to act.
An interim Ontario Human Rights Commission report shows that Toronto police have killed black civilians at twenty times the rate of white civilians in recent years.’ More here.