About
Policing isn’t just an American issue. Here in Hamilton alone we’ve seen the deaths of many at the hands of the Hamilton Police Services. In 2007 a Cambodian refugee, Soun Saing, living in Hamilton was shot and killed by HPS. In 2011 Andreas Chinnery was shot and killed by HPS who was alone in his apartment experiencing a mental health crisis. In 2012, Phonesay Chanthachack was shot and killed by HPS In 2013, Chevranna Abdi, a black trans woman, was killed by HPS by being dragged down 7 flights of stairs, face-down. In 2013 Steve Mesic was killed outside of his house by HPS after he left hospital in crisis and was trying to return home. In 2016, Anthony Divers was shot and killed by HPS during a mental health crisis. There are many more people who have been harmed or killed by police that aren’t as well documented.
In June of 2019, white supremacists showed up at Hamilton Pride. The Pride board had asked uniformed officers not to be present at Pride, and yet cops were present. When white supremacists showed up to violently attack members of the queer community, the police stood by and did nothing, then turned around and blamed the queer community for not inviting them. This event sparked months of weekly demonstrations by white supremacists (the Yellow Vesters) at City Hall that were unmonitored and even encouraged by the Hamilton Police Services. Despite an imminent threat to the safety of Black, Indigenous, and racialized people in Hamilton, the HPS did nothing about the Yellow Vesters, while simultaneously spending thousands to surveil protests and actions against white supremacy by Black and Indigenous organizers.
A 2018 carding consultation in Hamilton highlighted that Black youth in the city are being carded at their schools, in the streets, and being kicked out of Hamilton libraries without just cause by Hamilton police and security services.Even during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, police have continued to unjustly target people for existing in the streets. Police have issued expensive fines (upwards of $800) to houseless people, many of whom cannot afford to pay them off. These tickets have been issued under the guise of enforcing social distancing, but have only served to further entrench people in poverty and target those who cannot access housing.The violent act of state and municipal oppression must end. It is time for the institutions that have oversight of the police and residents to ask why we in Hamilton spend $171 million on policing but only $158 million on social services. The breakdown of the social services budget is $81 million on Transit, $25 million on Healthy and Safe communities, and $52 million on boards and agencies.There are alternate ways of creating safe communities that we have already seen, both with the COVID-19 outbreak and the riots happening across the States. Black communities can and have been showing up for one another by keeping each other safe, sharing resources, space, time and energy. Over 3,500 individuals and organizations have signed onto the call to defund the Hamilton Police. Through the work of HWDSB Kids Need Help, and on Monday June 22nd we have also been able to terminate the police liaison program in the HWDSB and get police out of schools. We are working on next steps which will include the creation of a People’s Budget, among other steps. For more information about the national and international campaign to defund police, visit: www.defundpolice.org Note: there are many groups organizing in Hamilton in relation to the Black Lives Matter Movement that are separate from this coalition, such as the March 4 Black Lives, and Forgien Waves International. Though we are seperate, we stand in solidarity with them.