But without taking the next step and holding individual officers accountable, a change in police culture can be as difficult as ever, says Angelo Sciacca.
“I think the time for words is over.  We heard the police make statements to the media.  They could just be empty words.  “They have to take this report and put it into practice,” he said in an interview.
Sciacca represents a female police officer whom CTV News Toronto does not recognize because she is concerned about further harassment.  He said “Darya” as a nickname.
In February, Daria filed an amended application with the Ontario Court of Human Rights, alleging a pattern of harassment that dates back more than a decade.  The Toronto Police Department denied the allegations in an unofficial response to the request, her lawyer said.
In an incident in March 2011, the complainant said that her partner intentionally closed a car door at the foot of someone she had arrested.  When she objected, he “hit her with all his might on her left chest,” he claimed in the application.
She claims senior officers did not conduct a proper investigation, including taking pictures of her injury, and the Toronto Police Association told her not to accuse her of being a “rookie” and that it would ruin her career.
“The applicant was expected to be attacked by male officers in order to keep her job,” the statement said.
“When he reported the incident, he retaliated almost immediately.  “They told her not to do it anymore, they called her a rat and a liar, and they locked her car and left her dog feces on her windshield and that was in a police car park,” Sciacca said.
Darya, who is of Iranian descent, has been called “lonely” because she avoids alcohol-focused socializing, she was told by her classmates to take English as a second language, even though she speaks four languages ​​fluently and has had sexually explicit comments about her body.  , says the application.
The testimony claims the harassment he experienced was systemic – and Scaccia says a report released this week could help him prove it in court.
According to a survey commissioned by Deloitte of the Toronto Police Department, 60 percent of the 908 people surveyed said they had experienced or witnessed harassment or discrimination within the TPS in the past five years.
Source: Toronto Police Department
The report found that nearly 1 in 4 police officers said they were witnesses or experienced harassment.  About 24 percent were witnesses and about 12 percent experienced sexual harassment.  About 16 percent were witnesses and about 22 percent were discriminated against at work.
Source: Toronto Police Department
The report was dated March 2022 and was released on the same day that TPS apologized for systemic racism, as its own evidence showed that it used more violence against blacks and racial people.
“Harassment and discrimination have no place in our bodies,” TPS board chairman Jim Hart said in a statement released this week.
“The Board of Directors and the Service are committed to listening and doing better every day, and we remain committed to promoting a progressive and inclusive culture.  We know that this will benefit every member as well as the communities we are very proud to serve. ”
The force said it has joined a police workplace respect team, consisting of 16 police services from across the province, has revamped the workplace harassment process and added anti-harassment training to all supervisors and senior officers.  More than 1,000 supervisors have received this training to date.