Police board chair should resign over ‘I can’t breathe’ Facebook post: police union

The Toronto Police Association is calling for the resignation of Police Services Board Chair Alok Mukherjee over a Facebook post.

The item, originally posted to the Occupy Wall St. Facebook page, compares the number of Americans killed by ISIL, Ebola, and police.

Police Association president Mike McCormack says the post “clearly demonstrates Mukherjee’s bias against police officers.”

“Here is somebody that’s supposed to be unbiased, objective, responsible for the civilian oversight of policing in Toronto,” McCormack said.

“This clearly demonstrates that Mukherjee can no longer be trusted.”

Mukherjee released a statement Friday afternoon saying he regretted “the reaction caused by the posting.”

“I would like to make it very clear that the item was shared as a topic of interest, intended to encourage conversation and reflection,” he said.

“It was not intended to be a negative commentary in any way on members of our police service or on our practices … I have the utmost respect for members of the Toronto Police Service and I strive at all times to serve as chair in a fair and professional manner.”

At city hall, Mayor John Tory called the post “regrettable,” but was hesitant to comment on the specifics of the dispute.

He did reiterate his concerns about the relationship between the police, its board, and the community.

“This overall series of relationships is of concern to me,” Tory said. “So that’s why some changes are being made and I guess we’ll have to hope things get better going forward.”

The police association said it would send letters of complaint to the premier’s office, mayor’s office, and Ontario Commission of Police Complaints.

Read Mukherjee’s statement below.

December 5, 2014  

This morning, the Toronto Police Association has called for my resignation as Chair of the Toronto Police Service Board, claiming a facebook posting I shared on my personal page in regard to the Eric Garner death, shows lack of objectivity on my part.

Let me say that I very much regret the reaction caused by the posting.  

I would like to make it very clear that the item was shared as a topic of interest, intended to encourage conversation and reflection. The share was not meant as an endorsement of any views contained. It was not intended to be a negative commentary in any way on members of our police service or on our practices.  I am very proud of our approach to policing, our practice of continuously learning from our experience, our systems of accountability and the efforts we make to maintain positive relations with our community.  
 
I take every opportunity to celebrate the work our police officers do to keep our communities safe and to build good relations in our neighbourhoods.
 
I have the utmost respect for members of the Toronto Police Service and I strive at all times to serve as Chair in a fair and professional manner.

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