The Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) won’t take part in this year’s virtual pride parade, given global conversations about violence and systemic racism in law enforcement, an organizer says.
Saskatoon Pride co-chair Natasha King said police won’t submit a video for the parade on June 20, which is online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision was made last Thursday, she said.
King is referring to longstanding tensions caused by racial injustice. Those tensions came to a boiling point following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody after a white Minneapolis officer was filmed kneeling on his neck.
SPS’s participation in pride has been questioned in the past, King said.
“It was a very debated and contentious issue. It has been for the last probably five years,” she said.
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At previous parades, officers have marched without their uniforms and firearms.
Alyson Edwards, SPS’s public affairs director, said she wasn’t aware police won’t participate in the parade.
“We have not heard that but will wait for word from Pride,” Edwards said in an email to Global News, noting she may not be aware of conversations had last week.
Decision made prior to discovery of offensive posts
A Saskatoon constable was placed on administrative leave after offensive posts about LGBTQ2 people were found on his personal social media account.
The decision to exclude police from the parade was made before those posts came to light, King said.
The SPS is investigating the conduct of the 12-year member of the force.
“The relationship we have with the gender and sexually diverse community is incredibly important to the Saskatoon Police Service,” SPS Chief Troy Cooper said in a statement.
“I want to assure the public that we take these complaints seriously.”
King said the news was shocking, particularly because the SPS has been working on educating its members about diverse communities.
“It is sad to see that their efforts in education are not necessarily adopted by all of the members of the police service,” she said.
“We’ve got some baby steps that have started and there’s a lot more work to happen.”
Going forward, King said additional education for officers will be crucial.
“If we could have collaboration on how the police operate both within the BIPOC community and the queer community, that would really be beneficial,” she said.
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