‘Law and Order’ Hamilton council candidate’s photo with police chief may violate election rules

Hamilton | Latest News | Police | Politics |

By

Published August 31, 2022 at 10:49 am

Ward 4 candidate Max Francis (centre) and Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen (far right). (Twitter/@Ward4Max)

Multiple complaints have been made to the City of Hamilton elections office about council candidate Max Francis sharing a photo of himself with police Chief Frank Bergen and three other uniformed officers, which was taken inside of a police facility.

Francis, the entrepreneur who created the True Hamiltonian clothing brand, is one of 11 candidates vying to represent Ward 4 at city hall in Hamilton. The photo of him with Bergen and three other Hamilton Police (HPS) officers was shared on his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 30). Both HPS and the candidate posted follow-up tweets saying the photo was in no way meant as an endorsement of Francis. The seeming location of the photo, and lack of any initial clarification that this was not an endorsement, may flout provincial and city regulations.

Two voters, who are confirmed to live in Hamilton, looped in inTheHammer after writing to the elections offices to address their contentions that rules were broken.

Police in Ontario are governed by laws that limit their participation in partisan politics. And the city, right from the jump in this municipal election campaign, has said there are rules barring candidates from using city resources:

  • Section 86 of the Ontario Community Safety and Policing Act states, “No police officer who is a member of a police service maintained by a police service board shall engage in political activity, except as permitted by the regulations.”

    Hamilton has a police services board. The act was passed in 2019 by the Premier Doug Ford-led Ontario PC Party government.

  • On the city end, a policy about “Use of City Resources During An Election,” took effect last Dec. 15. Section 6.1.3(a) states, “During a campaign period, Members of Council, candidates, and third parties are not permitted to… Use equipment, assets, supplies, services, staff or other resources of the City for any campaign or campaign related activities.”

    The city reminded candidates and media outlets of the policy on May 2, the day that nominations opened. Three racialized candidates were not allowed to hold kickoff events in the forecourt of city hall. Ward 14 council hopeful Kojo Damptey and public school board trustee candidates Sabreina Dahab (Ward 2) and Ahona Mehdi (Ward 8/14) had to move their events. Mayoralty contender Keanin Loomis, who is white, moved his campaign event in a show of allyship.

In his post, Francis, who is Black, refers to himself as a candidate on a Twitter account that refers to the ward where he is running. That may count as “campaign related.” Uniformed police officers could be seen as “other resources of the City,” to quote from the policy.

In the post, Francis writes, “The Hamilton police service is an invaluable part of our community, good people doing an impossible job.

“I’m a strong believer in working together to keep our community and our residents safe.

“If that means that I’m the ‘Law and Order’ candidate, then so be it.”

(Update: Francis deleted the post on Wednesday afternoon.)

The police response last night did not refer to a specific candidate, but only that it is did not and does not endorse candidates. There are over 100 people running for mayor, council and school board trustee (across four different boards) in Hamilton.

“We are aware of a photo shared on social media by a local candidate earlier today,” HPS wrote.

“The photo shared is not a direct or implied endorsement by the Hamilton Police Service.

“Hamilton Police Service does not endorse any candidate running for political office.”

Francis posted his follow-up on Wednesday morning (Aug. 31), using similar language.

“Yesterday’s post is in no way an endorsement by the Hamilton police service or Chief Bergen.

“I’d also like to thank the HPS for the opportunity to chat about issues that matter in our community.”

While policing is doubtlessly a stressful job, collective actions by HPS in recent years have led to public outcry and disappointment from equity-seeking communities in Hamilton. While there have been efforts to build trust, those have included:

  • An “inadequate” response when Hamilton Pride 2019 attendees were assaulted by what a independent reviewer described as a crew of “homophobes, white supremacists and organized agitators.”
  • The arrests of a majority-Black group of six housing advocates related to an early-morning encampment teardown at J.C. Beemer Park in November 2021. The police services board did not respond to calls from prominent Black community leaders, such as Evelyn Myrie and Leo Nupolu Johnson, to support a judicial inquiry into HPS conduct. The charges against all six were dropped in early 2022.
  • Two officers face assault charges in connection with their conduct during an arrest of Patrick Tomchuk, an Indigenous man, during a stolen vehicle investigation in May 26.Video viewed by Hamilton media outlets at Tomchuk’s bail hearing show he was kicked in the head by an HPS officer, who then held his head against the pavement with his foot even though Tomchuk appeared to be unconscious. The police services board has since requested that Hamilton Police review all policies and procedures related to prisoner handling and use of force.

The other 10 candidates in Ward 4 are Angelica Hasbon, Tammy Hwang, Alex Johnstone, Cindy Kennedy, Pascal Marchand, Adam Oldfield, Robert Paris, Laura Taylor, Eric Tuck and Mary Williams.

Election day is 54 days away, on Oct. 24.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising