Reactions pour in over Toronto officer promoted decades after killings, beating of Black men

The controversial history of a Toronto police officer in the 1990s is still relevant today and should have been considered during a decision to promote him to lead the Toronto Police Service’s (TPS) professional standards unit, critics say.

Instead, records show there was no mention in filings about the promotion to the TPS Board of how now-Supt. Rick Shank was cleared of wrongdoing in killing two young Black men and was accused in court of beating a third, decades ago.

“It stinks to high hell. It’s extremely disappointing and it erodes the public trust,” said Nigel Barriffe, the president of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations. “This is a call on the Toronto Police Services Board to reverse the decision.”

Walied Khogali Ali of the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association said at an unrelated press conference that he was concerned Shank’s assignment didn’t reflect the sensitivity to systemic racism in the police force that former Chief James Ramer showed in an apology last year.

“I believe apologies are meaningless unless there is action behind that apology. We’re looking for the leadership of the Toronto Police Service to demonstrate through action what they meant by that apology,” Ali said.

“I think the Toronto Police Service needs to re-examine how they want to build a relationship with the community.”

The professional standards unit for Toronto police is responsible for internal investigations, liaising with police watchdogs including the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), and strengthening public confidence in the police.

The SIU cleared then-Const. Rick Shank when he shot and killed 20-year-old Ian Coley in 1993. The agency charged him with manslaughter for killing Hugh Dawson in 1997 — a charge that first resulted in a hung jury and then an acquittal.

The SIU didn’t prosecute Shank for the alleged beating of 29-year-old Paul Reece in 1993, saying the impact on the young man didn’t rise to its level of “serious injuries.” Shank faced no internal discipline proceedings in that incident, though a lawsuit by Reece reportedly ended in a settlement and the charges against Reece were thrown out of court.

There is no mention of that history in a letter to the TPS Board in 2021, when former Chief James Ramer said simply of a group of officers, including Shank, “A check of internal sources, including Professional Standards, Diversity and Inclusion, Legal Services and Labour Relations, reveals no historic or current information on file indicating that the officers should not be recommended for a promotion.”

The letter says the hiring panel included soon-to-be Chief Myron Demkiw, who has faced his own controversy about his involvement in a Toronto bathhouse raid in 2000.

Each city councillor who sits on the TPS Board referred CTV News Toronto to the board chair.

The board chair said in a statement that any promotion involving Shank is mandated to have met the requirements as set out in its procedures.

“It recognizes that service members may, from time to time, be involved in incidents which merit scrutiny, concern, complaints or charges (whether disciplinary or criminal), and ensures that the process is structured so that these affect promotional opportunities in appropriate cases, while also allowing for the fact that in some circumstances the outcome — such as acquittal, allegations concluded to be unfounded, no laying of charges — is such that a promotion can proceed. The procedure also ensures that the totality of a service member’s work is considered when determining opportunities for promotion,” the statement on behalf of its interim chair, Lisa Kostakis, said.

TPS has said that the incidents in the 1990s do not reflect who Shank is as a person and a police officer, and have pointed to what they call 30 years of exemplary service.

Former TPS Board Member Alok Mukherjee said the board and the chief must go beyond considering the simple procedure, and must critically examine how their decisions will be seen by the community at large.

“What does it say about the Chief’s sensitivity to the issue of community trust in the internal investigation process with someone like this being the head?” he asked.

He said regardless of the information which was in the package, the board must also do its own research.

“The boards need to do more due diligence. They really need to dig much deeper into the history of someone they are considering for higher office,” he said.

Louis March of the Zero Gun Violence Movement said the appointment left him “scratching his head” because of the previous commitments to building healthy relationships with the Black community.

“If he’s going to be head of the standards, his standards is not similar to what the city wants,” March said.