Initial numbers show Black people over-represented in 2020 police use of force incidents
Hard to draw conclusions based on small data set, Chief Bryan Larkin says
New numbers show that Black people have been over-represented in cases where police use or threaten force, which can include when officers draw their weapon, use physical force or use a conducted energy weapon on a person.
A report presented to the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board on Wednesday shows the racial breakdown of police use of force incidents between January and June this year.
People perceived as Black by officers were involved in 16 per cent of police use of force incidents, despite making up about 3 per cent of the regional population according to the latest census data.
People perceived as white were the subjects of 66 percent of police use of force incidents, and make up about 78 per cent of the regional population.
Police Chief Bryan Larkin says the numbers are more complicated than they seem on the surface.
"We have a very small data set and have nothing to compare it to other than 2016 census data around population," Larkin told reporters at the meeting Wednesday. "To jump and draw any conclusions at this point is not appropriate."
The board heard Wednesday that not everyone involved in a police interaction necessarily lives in the region. One use of force incident can also result in multiple reports.
Most calls that police respond to do not result in reportable use of force and there have been no deaths or permanent injuries this year resulting from police intervention, the report said.
'Black people are continuously over-represented'
Although the data set may be limited to about a six-month period, Lang Ncube noted that this isn't the first time Black people have been over-represented in police data.
Previous reports have shown the Black community has been over-represented in police street checks, as well as officers' intelligence notes, Ncube said.
"When the numbers came out for the use of force, it wasn't a surprise, nor was it a shock to anyone within the Black community," said Ncube, who is is the community development coordinator with the African Caribbean and Black Network of Waterloo Region and watched the board meeting on Wednesday.
Ncube said she doesn't think change will come from anti-racism training or from technology such as body-worn cameras, and continues to support local calls to defund police and reallocate money elsewhere.
When asked about defunding Wednesday, Larkin said he agrees that police may not be the best equipped to respond to every emergency. But he said he still does not support a decrease to police funding.
What qualifies as use of force
Use of force incidents are defined by Waterloo regional police as a variety of actions that require officers to submit reports, based on both provincial requirements and the service's internal policies. These incidents include when an officer:
- Draws a handgun in the presence of a member of the public, points a firearm at a person or discharges a firearm.
- Uses a weapon other than a firearm on another person.
- Uses physical force on another person that results in an injury requiring medical attention.
- Draws or deploys a conducted energy weapon on another person.
Waterloo regional police also report incidents where a police dog has injured someone or where an officer has used an ARWEN (Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield).
Going forward, police will continue to report on use of force incidents on a quarterly basis. All police members will receive anti-racism training, with a focus on anti-Black racism, in 2021.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
