London, Ont., police training with Chechen paramilitary group damages Canada's image, researcher warns
11 London officers were in Dubai last week for a 5-day SWAT competition
London, Ont., police officers participating in a competition in Dubai alongside a Chechen group accused of committing atrocities in the conflict with Ukraine "damages the image of Canada," says a University of Toronto professor with expertise in international relations and political science.
"When you are doing anything internationally, you have to also be aware of the image of the country, it's not just a local matter. And so there's an extra duty," said Aurel Braun, who's also an associate with the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University.
"I don't know what motivated participation here, whether it was negligence — gross negligence — utter stupidity, or what," he said. Braun said there is "no reasonable justification" for it, even if little taxpayer money was spent on it.
CBC News first reported that London police sent their emergency response unit to a five-day competition in the United Arab Emirates last week. The trip came as London police asks for a massive budget increase in the next four years to pay for new officers, drones, a second light-armoured vehicle and a new training centre.
London's police service was the only Canadian force to participate. Two U.S. forces, the New York Police Department and the San Antonio Police Department, also sent delegations.
Participants also included the Akhmat unit from the Russian republic of Chechnya, a group that's been accused of committing atrocities in the conflict with Ukraine. The unit's victory in an event on the fourth day was celebrated in a ceremony attended by Adam Kadyrov, son of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, according to a news release.
Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is among the individuals under economic sanctions from the Canadian government.
Police board unaware of trip
London's police chief said the cost of the trip was reduced to $15,700 from $115,000 after discussions with Dubai police, the event's hosts. Chief Thai Truong also said he would send the 11 officers for the SWAT competition again, saying it delivered essential training for police who respond to the highest-risk situations.
After the trip became public, the board that oversees the police service asked for Truong to report back about how the trip came about and its costs and benefits. The board and politicians who sit on it were unaware of the trip before CBC's reporting.
The trip raises questions about the militarization of local police forces, said Alok Mukherjee, who spent a decade at the helm of Toronto's police services board.
"My concern is the growing reliance on use of force and the growing militarization of our police forces. We need to consider: how does this impact the way that policing happens in our communities?"
Braun said it will be important to find out exactly how the decision to attend was made, and to impose penalties severe enough to deter similar decisions in the future.
There should be resignations over the decision, said Braun, drawing parallels with an incident last year that saw the speaker of the House of Commons step down after inviting a man who fought for a Nazi military unit to Parliament.
"In Ukraine, the Kadyrov clan is a great supporter of aggression, they are a great supporter of the Putin regime," said Braun. "So how on Earth can we ... consider it justified participating in the event where these people are featured?"
The competition's website says it is meant to "foster an exchange of tactical techniques and skills among international SWAT teams." Other participating countries this year included Belarus, China, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
London officers in bottom 10
Two units from Dubai placed first and second in the competition, with the Chechen team coming in eighth. The London force was in the bottom 10.
The top winners take home monetary prizes as high as $80,000, and there are daily prizes of up to $5,000 for the winners of each challenge.
Truong did not answer questions about training alongside the Chechen unit. London Mayor Josh Morgan, who sits on the police board, said he supports its decision in "directing administration to outline specific financial and procedural considerations governing not only the approval of this specific training competition, but also the approval process governing similar training opportunities for our service."
Morgan said he could not comment further, so as not to compromise the review process.
With files from Andrew Lupton