Edmonton police listening and learning in journey to eliminate systemic racism, chief says

Efforts to build trusting relationships with Edmonton's Black, Indigenous and other racial communities have had the city's police service doing a lot of listening — and some soul-searching too, police Chief Dale McFee said Wednesday.

The chief, in an update on the service's commitment to address systemic racism, said that police have been meeting with and listening to different groups of Edmontonians, and have even recorded a two-hour podcast with two community members.

"People told us their stories and some of those stories were hard to listen to. Some of them were bad customer service. Some of them were things that we probably need to look at improvement on and we will look at improvement on," McFee told reporters.

Meetings have included a gathering at headquarters as well as a listening session, held at Alberta Avenue Community League, which was advertised on the EPS Facebook page and drew officers from all over the city.

'Officers took ownership'

Last month members of the canine unit and participated in a dispute resolution process to address racist images found in the locker-room of the canine unit. At a peacemaking circle, Black and Indigenous community members spoke to officers about the impact of their actions.

'It was an emotional time," recalled McFee. "It was a time where our community talked about impact and what that meant. And it [was] a time when our officers took ownership and they stepped up. And I think we got to a better place and we'll continue to work on that."

He said many people also shared stories about the good experiences they've had with police — success stories that the service will build on.

The podcast will released soon in 30 minute segments, McFee said.

"It was dialogue that we can form a partnership to look forward to. Not a collaboration, not a talking piece, but how we can actually look at change," he said.

In his media update, McFee said the podcast was made with Black Lives Matter (BLM), a group that has gathered more than 13,000 signatures calling for a reallocation of funds from policing and into social programs.

However, when CBC News sought comment, BLM said they had not made a podcast with police.

Police later clarified that the podcast, called Building Bridges, was made with two members of the Black community who invited the chief to participate.

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Hannan Mohamud, cohost of Is This For Real, a podcast that examines policing issues impacting Edmonton's racial communities, expressed concern that community members listening to the news conference might mistakenly think BLM is no longer holding police to account.

"It's really insulting," said Mohamud, a law student and member of BLM. "I think it disregards our work."

Mohamud questioned whether police were willing to listen to their critics. "If they really are trying to reach out to community, they should make the effort to reach out to all community."

During public hearings at city hall this summer, BLM members were among dozens of speakers calling for change as officials heard from many Black, Indigenous and Edmontonians of colour who said they are not treated equally by the city's largely white police service.

That same month, two cases made headlines involving Edmontonians of colour and white police officers accused of racism and using unnecessary force.

More bias training

McFee said the police service will expand training around trauma and bias awareness throughout the organization.

The chief said previous work done with the LGBTQ2S-plus communities will provide a framework for that enhanced training. 

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During hearings on policing earlier this year at city hall, some speakers said bias training does not adequately address racism and that what is needed are more officers and social workers of colour who have a better understanding through their own lived experiences.