Hamilton police are investigating a video that appeared on social media on Thursday and it appears an officer is leaning towards a woman.
In a news release Friday morning, the Hamilton police service described the video as “concerning” and said its branch for professional standards is leading the investigation.
Officers shown on the video – which is footage from a surveillance camera – were responding to a neighborhood dispute at the time, police spokeswoman Jackie Penman said.
The footage appears to have been captured on Thursday before being released on social media. It shows two masked, uniformed officers at the door of a basement unit of a Hamilton house asking to speak to the tenant.
One officer appears to be pointing at the camera before speaking to the resident who burst open the door.
Tenant says neighbor wants her evicted
The footage shows the resident – a transgender woman with disabilities – telling the officer that her neighbor had lodged a complaint against her. She also says he is the superintendent and he has made complaints about her in the past. CBC has agreed to withhold the woman’s name because she is concerned about her safety.
In the video, she says the neighbor is trying to allow renovations that are inconsistent with the zoning of the house and he is trying to evict her. The supervisor “harasses his tenant and lets it do the opposite”, she says.
“Can I complete my sentence?” says one officer. “If you damage his property, you’ll be arrested.”
The woman says she did not damage any property.
“Please don’t talk to me like that,” she says.
In an elevated voice, the officer says, ‘I will only talk about you, because you are clearly unreasonable and do not listen.
“If you damage his property, you’ll be arrested. So do not damage anything. Is that clear? Thank you.”
Resident accuses officer of bullying
The woman says she understands this, and as the officers leave, says, “Enjoy your bullying of a job.”
The officer is seen turning around and moving towards the woman as she quickly locks the door.
He looks up at the other officer and laughs and then leaves.
“I was worried and worried … What if I did not get out of the way after he rushed at me?” the woman told CBC News. ‘Would he have followed it by arresting me just to cover up? [himself]? Would he have beaten me? He acknowledged the video camera and so did his colleague moments before he decided to act like that.
“I literally called him a bully and he bullied me on camera,” she said.
The woman said she was told that if she wanted the officers to be reprimanded, she should lodge a complaint with the OIPRD office. Instead, she said someone posted the surveillance footage on social media.
Police promise to improve relationship with LGBTQ + community
In a news release issued Friday morning, Hamilton police said ‘public trust and accountability’ is an integral part of the service work.
“And we are committed to upholding these values,” the statement said.
Hamilton police did not say who was leading the investigation in the professional services branch and did not name the officers in the video.
Last year, after a damning report showed that the force could not stop violence at a 2019 Pride festival in the city of Gage Park, Eric Girt, police chief, apologized on behalf of the service.
The independent report by Toronto Attorney Scott Bergman said the relationship between Hamilton police and LGBTQ residents in the city needs to be restored.
As of September 2020, the service responds to 34 of 38 recommendations. Of these, six were completed, 28 in progress and four did not start.
The woman in the video said she has no confidence in the police to make any significant change.
“Their public image is just a joke,” she said.
Fred Eisenberger, Hamilton’s mayor, also commented on the video, calling it ‘worrying’.
“Our members of the police service rightly maintain the highest standards of professionalism and integrity and have a positive duty to treat all members of our community with respect,” he said.
“The incident is now being investigated and I look forward to the outcome.”