Toronto police union demands chair of the police service board resigns over Facebook post

An errant Facebook post shared by the chair of the Toronto Police Service Board that compares police brutality in the U.S. to the work of the Islamic State terrorist group has union officials seething.

The Toronto Police Association are demanding the resignation of Alok Mukherjee on Friday, declaring that the leader of Toronto’s civilian oversight body crossed the line by sharing an Occupy Wall St. Facebook post.

The post, which has been widely shared, reads:

The shared post is no longer publicly visible on Mukherjee’s Facebook page.

In a screen-grab provided by the TPA, it appears Mukherjee wrote “I can’t breathe” under the poster – a reference to the death of Eric Garner, who died after being placed in a choke hold by police in New York.

"[Mukhergee’s] sharing of this poster is clearly unprofessional, clearly unethical and clearly seeks to undermine the very people he is paid to oversee," the TPA board of directors stated.

"We find it absolutely ironic that the chair of a civilian oversight board, set up to ensure the integrity and ethical behaviour of a police organization, would engage in this type of behaviour."

Mukherjee told the Globe and Mail that he was surprised at the backlash to his post, noting that it was a commentary on American police, not Canadian. He suggested the TPA’s frustration came from the image’s connection to the Occupy movement.

"Just because this poster happens to come from Occupy doesn’t make it an invalid poster. And in fact, when we had the Occupy movement happen here in downtown Toronto, our police accepted it was a legitimate expression of free speech. So I didn’t think I was using a source that was not either factual or criminal group,” he told the newspaper.

The poster, and others like it, have been widely shared online as several cases of fatal interactions with police have culminated in demonstrations across the country.

New York has descended into unending protest after a grand jury cleared a white police officer in the death of Garner, which was captured on video.

Missouri still reels from the fatal police shooting of black teenager Michael Brown.

And other instances of alleged police brutality continue to prompt protest.

The TPA said it would be filing a letter of complaint against Mukherjee with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, the solicitor general, Mayor John Tory and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.

It is not the first time Mukherjee and the police union have clashed, and it comes as the Toronto Police Service Board and union begin preparing for collective bargaining.

Last month, Mukherjee released a statement saying there needs to be a “break to this cycle of ever escalating costs of policing.”