With a policing career spanning more than two decades, newly promoted Toronto Police Service (TPS) Supt. Stacy Clarke has insight to share with the next generation of Black police officers during Black History Month.
“What I would say to the future young Black police officers within our organization is: stay your course, be true to who you are, also to mentor others,” said Clarke in a video created by TPS.
“Let’s remember to amplify the voices not just of our internal members but also of our communities.”
Clarke recently received a call she will not soon forget from TPS Chief James Ramer.
“We had an interview process quite competitively and on Jan. 27 Chief Ramer gave me a call and let me know that I was successful through the promotion process to the rank of superintendent so I am very excited,” she said, with a big smile.
Clarke was quick to follow that up with the acknowledgment that “many have paved the way” for her, adding “I will pave the way for others as well, but there’s still so much work that needs to be done.”
She pointed out that she is hoping to do so for “police officers first and foremost who have not necessarily seen themselves represented with the senior leadership and then for so many young people who have a drive and a desire to be a police officer.”
Clarke becomes the first Black female superintendent with the TPS and one of only two in Canada. Supt. Isobel Granger with the Ottawa Police Service is the only other Black woman currently at this rank. She was appointed in 2019.
“If you are driven and if you have integrity and if you value and love communities and love the work of protecting people then this is the best job for you,” said Clarke.
Clarke spent years policing and building partnerships to try to bridge the gap between the TPS and the city’s Black community, then came the cries heard around the world.
Clarke was referring to the death of George Floyd last May while in police custody in Minneapolis.
It hit home for her, as a mother of two.
“It jerked my system in a way that nothing has and I think more so now because I have children,” she said.
Being a mother is the other role Clarke takes very seriously. Her daughter is 14 and her son is 12.
How does she manage it all?
“One day at a time,” she laughed, adding, “There are times where I’m at work and I’m in a situation where it’s mommy time … I have to make it all work at the same time.”
Clarke also believes in the need for self-care.
“I really make a concerted effort to balance and not be balancing so it’s a constant reminder that I give myself … how easily all of the roles that I do play are incredibly important to me but it’s important that Stacy looks after Stacy,” she pointed out.
One way of achieving that is through meditation, which she often practises with her children.
“As long as I know that I’m doing the best that I can as a mom, as a police officer and as a member of the Black community then that’s what I focus on.”
Comments