The Calgary Police Service has issued a formal apology to the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population for actions it says left the community feeling marginalized and fearful of police.
Chief Constable Roger Chaffin read the apology at a news conference Friday morning, and similar notices were issued on the police service’s Facebook and Twitter accounts along with a three-minute video.
Calgary police said that after meeting with members of Calgary’s gender and sexually diverse community to discuss how to improve the relations, they decided it was time to issue an apology.
“During these sessions, it became apparent that some members of the community have a mistrust and even fear of the police because of past experiences,” the statement in the video reads.
“The Service recognizes that the relationship between the police and the community cannot continue moving forward until past events are properly addressed.”
The apology notes that in 1969, Calgary police officials worked against decriminalizing homosexuality. The police service continued a culture of marginalizing the gay community by refusing to grant permits for Pride parades back in the 1980s, and by taking part in a high-profile raid of the city's only gay bathhouse in 2002.
It says police continued to contribute to the systemic discrimination of the gay community by “falling short” in understanding the diverse LGBTQ2S culture, and failing to protect the dignity of the gay community.
“Inclusivity is the cornerstone of a strong city, which is something it took us a long time to understand,” the apology reads.
“…We are sorry for the role we played in this painful part of your past.”
The police service said there is still work to do to re-build trust between the gender and sexually diverse community and police.
“We belong to all Calgarians. Our hope is that someday, all Calgarians, regardless of their identity, will truly know that we are there for them.”
Mark Randall, a member of the police chief’s gender and sexual diversity advisory board, said Friday that there’s a long road ahead for the police force.
“It’s going to take a while. It takes a great deal of work to rebuild trust in a community that has nothing but mistrust,” he said, but noted it should be easy. “This isn’t rocket science. This isn’t going to be difficult to get done.”
Last summer, Calgary Pride organizers banned uniformed police officers from participating in the event’s annual parade.
Pride president Jason Kingsley told CTV News that the apology is a “fantastic step forward” for the community.
“It was a really emotional morning,” he said.
It's not clear whether uniformed police officers will be welcome to march in this year's parade, on Sept. 2. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks.
