Edmonton police commission imposes restrictions on how public can provide feedback

Edmonton police commission meetings will soon have tighter controls on public input.

At a meeting Thursday, the police commission passed a motion changing how the public can provide feedback after it said comments from speakers at recent meetings were "defamatory, derogatory, and demeaning."

Commissioners voted unanimously to support revisions to the commission's public input policy.

Executive director Matthew Barker will now have more oversight to filter and allow public presentations based on their relevance to the commission's agenda items or mandate.

While complaints about officer conduct, ongoing investigations or legal proceedings are not allowed at commission meetings, presenters in "several instances" have spoken on those topics, the commission said in a report prepared for Thursday's meeting.

In future, any requests to speak on matters like those must be denied by the executive director, according to the policy revisions.

Allowing speakers to voice their thoughts on those types of matters would open the commission to a "legal liability for not upholding the respectful workplace policy, OH&S regulation, Alberta Human Rights Act, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and other possible pieces of provincial and federal legislation," the report said.

"All presenters will conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner and will obey the rules of procedure or a decision of the chair," the new guidelines say.

Anger from the public

Thursday's meeting was held online, as were the two previous commission meetings. 

A meeting on May 16 came shortly after the Edmonton Police Service removed a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Alberta on May 11. "The public meeting will be online only due to safety considerations," the commission said in a news release at the time. 

During the May meeting, EPS was heavily criticized by several members of the public about the use of force demonstrated by officers in clearing the People's University For Palestine's encampment. 

On Thursday, the commission provided paraphrased comments from the public that it deemed offensive for a multitude of reasons. Some were targeted toward specific EPS and commission staff.

Administration did not provide exact quotes in an effort to avoid causing further harm by repeating "egregious statements," according to the commission report. 

Comments from the public include alleging that a member of the commission was racist and could not carry out their duties due to a conflict of interest, and that EPS staff are "tone-deaf, skirting accountability, misleading and gas-lighting the public, and are incompetent and dishonest in their reporting to the commission."

Comments from the public were also levelled at EPS Chief Dale McFee, including ones saying "he is a political hire, he perpetuates ongoing genocide, that he is biased and has no integrity, that he is a liar, and that he is failing in his duties." 

"Other comments levied included allegations that officers were using heinous violence and barbarism and that they were an oppressive institution," the report said. 

A speaker at Thursday's meeting was critical of the policy revisions, saying they will shut down conversation from the public.

"This document and the recommendations are severely lacking, and I think that the comments that were brought forward as proof that the public is bullying or intimidating or harassing commission and police is just input from the public, just here to talk about what we're frustrated with," Katy Ingraham said.

"To shut down conversation like that, to me, that's completely undemocratic from a body who has expressed in front of council that they want to perform their unique role in governance.

"You cannot just pick and choose what you want to hear and what you don't want to hear specifically."

READ | Edmonton Police Commission report on motion revisions to public input policy