Canadian Court Rules Against Racial Profiling

deception · Jul 23, 2009

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/670484

Ron Phipps admits he was criss-crossing Vernham Ave. the day he was stopped by police in the Bridle Path.

He was also wearing a Canada Post coat and carrying two mailbags while filling in for the regular letter carrier.

Toronto Police Const. Michael Shaw pointed that out to a new constable he was training as soon as they turned into the street. Shaw was also suspicious about Phipps, who is black, speaking to a homeowner but not delivering her any mail.

They also had instructions to investigate cut phone lines and look for suspects described as male, white and eastern European who were seen in a car.

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled that by stopping Phipps on March 9, 2005, questioning him, trailing him and asking a white letter carrier to verify his identity, Shaw was guilty of racial profiling.
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"This was always broader than Const. Shaw," Phipps said yesterday from his Thornhill residence.

"I know there is more than one Const. Shaw in the world."

This case is important, said law professor David Tanovich, because it is the second clear Ontario human rights tribunal ruling of racial profiling against police.

The first was against Peel Regional Police in 2007. Tanovich is academic director of the Law Enforcement Accountability Project at the University of Windsor.

"Most cases are not about overt racism. They're about stereotyping. I think the Bridle Path contributed. One of the assumptions is that this person is out of place," he said.
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-my bad for the misleading title, it was a tribunal not a court

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Canadian Court Rules Against Racial Profiling

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