Police complaints commission overturns Neptune Four decision
Article content
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission has overturned an earlier decision in the infamous Neptune Four case and allowed an appeal.
The initial decision was made by a hearing officer at the Toronto Police Service’s disciplinary tribunal.
Two Toronto Police officers were found guilty of misconduct for accosting four Black teenagers on Nov. 21, 2011, outside the complainants’ home in the Neptune Toronto Community Housing complex.
Const. Adam Lourenco has now also been found guilty of discreditable conduct for pointing his firearm at the complainants in the encounter.
The OCPC ruled that this use of force was unreasonable and “had the potential to damage the reputation of the TPS in the eyes of a fully apprised reasonable person.”
The governing body, in overturning the hearing officer’s ruling, determined that Lourenco’s conduct did not meet the test to point his firearm: That he did not have reasonable grounds to fear that serious bodily harm or death would occur when complainants YB and BHA moved toward him after he had punched their friend and brother BA to the ground.
In addition, the OCPC found that the hearing officer erred in relying on his own training and experience as a cop when he determined that pointing a firearm was justified under the circumstances.
The threat, the OCPC ruled, from the youth was overstated “given that this was a random stop of young teenagers simply walking outside of their home.
“Of particular significance, the OCPC held, in the face of the officers’ objections, that social context evidence about the racial dynamics between Black youth and police was relevant to the assessment of whether PC Lourenco’s use of force was reasonable,” a statement from the complainants’ lawyers said.
“This is in spite of the fact that neither officer had been charged with racial discrimination.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Legal eagles said this was the first case in Canada that “specifically found that racial bias has the potential to undermine the reasonableness of a police use of force in police discipline proceedings.”
OCPC did not find whether or not racial bias was present.
“The complainants believe that this case paves the way for future cases to consider the reasonableness of a police officer’s use of force by drawing on the broader systemic racial dynamics,” lawyers for the complainants said, adding the case fuelled negative stereotypes about Black youth and men.
In the same decision, the OCPC rejected the officers’ appeals.
Lourenco and Const. Scharnil Pais had appealed the finding they were guilty of unlawfully arresting YB and MM. Lourenco appealed the finding that his punching of BA amounted to discreditable conduct.
He is now convicted of all three counts initially laid against him. Pais remains convicted of the initial complaint against him.
At a hearing in 2021, Lourenco received a 12-day forfeiture of salary. Pais lost three days of pay.
In 2021, the complainants had hoped the cops would be hit harder and wanted Lourenco to be fired.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.