Mayor John Tory’s main political rival Gil Penalosa is warning that an incoming Toronto Police Chief may not be the best man to head Canada’s largest force into the future.

Penalosa is asking Toronto and the Toronto Police Services Board to pause the installation of Chief-Designate Myron Demkiw on December 19 for the top job of commanding 5,500 police officers and 2,000 civilian employees.

He said Demkiw formerly belonged to the Toronto Police’s disbanded Vice Squad, and ‘is an affront to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.’

“His direct involvement in the women’s bathhouse raid in 2000, other raids on Queer spaces, and his subsequent attack on a City Councillor who spoke against these atrocious acts, makes him a controversial choice to serve Toronto’s diverse communities as their Chief of Police,” Penalosa said in a news release.

“What message does Mr. Demkiw’s nomination send to queer communities who have recently been abandoned by their police force while a serial killer preyed on gay men for years without adequate response,” he asked.

“ Trans women in Toronto have been subjected to questionable police conduct for years and little has been done to improve community relations.”

Penalosa accused Tory, who serves on the Police Services Board, of “a lack of judgement and indifference to queer communities by not only approving this appointment, but reaffirming his choice of Demkiw in the face of opposition by the communities the new Chief will have to serve.”

He asked Tory to pause the installation of Demkiw as the next police chief ‘until the affected community receives a public meeting and answers to the questions.’
“Anything less will be unforgivable,” Penalosa said.

“Torontonians deserve and expect their new police chief to be someone who has earned their trust, not someone mired in controversy with a history of abusing the charter rights of a minority group,” he charged.