The police board apologized to Kojo Damptey — former head of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion — for publishing a letter that named him containing ‘disturbing’ comments.
The police board apologized to Kojo Damptey — former head of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion — for publishing a letter that named him containing ‘disturbing’ comments.
Hamilton’s police board has apologized for briefly publishing an anonymous letter of support on its agenda that targeted an anti-racism activist who criticized the service’s use of force against Black people.
The unsigned letter centred around a report that showed Hamilton’s Black residents were 3.14 times more likely to be the target of police force than other people in 2022.
Beyond thanking police, questioning the correlation between police force and race, and equating people’s race to criminality, the letter railed against advocates who said the annual stats pointed to systemic racism in the service.
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But in particular it repeatedly singled out Kojo Damptey — former head of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion — as a “radical, aggressive” activist.
“He is perpetuating hate, divisiveness and polarization,” said the inflammatory letter, which was reviewed by The Spec. “He wants to blame, defame and inflame.”
The letter initially posted to a July 7 agenda before abruptly being taken down.
At a board meeting Thursday, Damptey called the statements in the letter “very disturbing” and “defamatory,” and asked board members why it was posted in the first place given it was unsigned and contained misinformation about a resident in the community.
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“To have someone write this and see it in a public agenda sends a very dangerous message to people that have been trying change the minds of our community in connecting criminality to somebody’s race,” Damptey said, adding allegations in the letter that he was spreading misinformation were untrue. “I only commented on a report submitted by (police).”
Board chair Pat Mandy apologized to Damptey and said the letter was “mistakenly published.” She noted the board’s correspondence bylaw states all letters must contain the name and address of the sender.
“As soon as it was recognized that there was no name or address on there, it was removed from the website. I apologize for this oversight.”
While agreeing mistakes can happen, Coun. Cameron Kroetsch said the board should do more to protect residents from “defamatory” statements and argued a name shouldn’t be the only qualifier for letters to be published on meeting agendas.
“If you share views like this, I don’t want to see them,” he said. “I think they’re harmful, I think they’re borderline hateful, and I think there’s stereotypes being circulated in here that shouldn’t be encouraged by us to be sent (in).”
Kroetsch added letters like the one published contain personal information about an identifiable individual, contrary to Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy laws.
The Ward 2 councillor put forward a successful motion that will see staff report back to the board with recommendations on how misinformation can be addressed in letters. The report will also explore who should be responsible for determining the accuracy of statements in letters.
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