Police officers are being watched.
And filmed.
Not just from their own body- and dash-cams. No, this spying is being done by the public. Not just when officers are in the heat of action but when they are getting coffee or guarding a scene. Not just from street level when effecting an arrest but from buildings or bridges above.
And there is not a thing they can do about it.
“Our members know they are watched continuously, they know everything they do and say is captured on video, and they know that they are the only professional in an interaction with the public,” said Toronto Police Association president Jon Reid. “Our members are also pushed to the brink on many shifts. Between a lack of proper staffing and public support, and when some members of the public feel it is increasingly acceptable to interfere in police operations and treat our members with disrespect, it is not surprising to see how some of these interactions are unfolding.”
It’s easier said than done, but police officers have to do their best to not bite or put their foot in the trap. The reality in 2024 is police are under constant surveillance — sometimes by former police officers. They already had a difficult, dangerous job, but social media has made what they do something to broadcast to the whole world.
With so many unfiltered social media sites, there is no editor or producer to suppress it like there once was. I remember decades ago when there was a search for bodies from a plane crash, an officer jokingly laid down on the hull of the police boat under a yellow tarp so the waiting photographers would be punked by what they shot.
When he burst up from under the tarp, alive, everybody had a laugh and it was an important one because it had been a long, difficult day. Sometimes you need humour. No one ran that video because it was an inside joke. That would not happen today. It would be out on social media sites X or Instagram, instantly, and that copper would be investigated by the Professional Standards Unit.
It was harmless but in today’s cancel culture, it would not fly. Today, officers have to be at their best at all times because if someone pushing their buttons brings out their worst, everybody is going to see it.You had better believe there are people pushing. This summer has had several examples.
The one of the officer giving the middle finger to a former police officer wearing a pair of glasses with built-in camera who was giving she and her partner the gears for illegally parking while getting a coffee. The one of an officer telling a pulled-over driver it doesn’t matter why his licence was being returned in two pieces. Or the video of the man who was pushed to the ground and hit his head on the concrete after allegedly interfering with an arrest by some originally unidentified plainclothes officers.
And then there was the delivering coffee to protesters.
Reid warns the public to not judge by what they see in X posts.
“These videos rarely show the complete interaction or context in which the incident took place. As a result, it’s not fair to assume misconduct on the part of our members,” Reid said. “Also, the videos often capture a police/public interaction that is tense and volatile. Videos of the good deeds, de-escalations, or life-saving steps thousands of members do every day are rarely captured, posted and/or reported on in the same way.”
The other barometer is to look for interactions that are provoked by the public — like someone badgering a police officer.
The latest video shot by Canada Cop Watch shows a wild, loud and profane police foot chase of people running around in circles on Sherbourne and Queen streets in which a suspect is chased by plainclothes officers and eventually detained with the help of uniformed officers and Toronto Community Housing special constables.
“Get on the f—ing ground, idiot,” someone can be heard saying.
It was like a cop TV show. They did take the man to the ground but later removed the handcuffs. You could see his bumps and scrapes. He is responsible for running. Police said the suspect was placed under arrest “but the investigation revealed that he was not the wanted suspect and he was released unconditionally.” Police said the man was treated for a small cut to his finger sustained during the arrest.
On social media it was said to be about a stolen scooter. Police say they were trying to detain someone they thought was wanted for a shooting in May. It would have been easier if the man had not have bolted from police, who ultimately determined he was not who they were looking for. Canada Cop Watch said the man was later detained and jailed on an “unrelated” matter.
This video does not show bad policing but shows real policing. It’s not easy. It’s important for people to see from the safety of their video screens. It offers an inside look into what cops face. The last thing Toronto wants are camera-shy police pulling a FIDO (F— It, Drive On) move because they are being videoed at calls. Police are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
In this video, you can see an officer asking a person demanding a name and badge number to stop filming. My advice to street coppers is to forget about the cameras. Chief Myron Demkiw and Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue might want to consider building ignoring the cameras into their training. It’s just too hard to stop them now because everybody has a portable movie studio and Toronto Police acknowledge the public is under no obligation to stop a person filming from public property.
“Citizens can record in public spaces,” said Const. Sinderela Chung. “When officers are in plain clothes, we also will give our name when asked by the public.”
Reid does see the upside.
“Videos of the good deeds, de-escalations, (guns off the street), or life-saving steps thousands of members do every day are rarely captured, posted or reported on in the same way,” he said.
It should be this way because, after all, police are constantly being recorded.