Police officer who shared racist, extremist posts still working with Hamilton force after investigation

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Hamilton police say an investigation into an officer they suspended after he shared racist and extremist content on social media is complete and he remains employed in a “non-public facing role.” 

“Beyond that, we cannot speak publicly about an employment or discipline matter involving one of our members,” police service spokesperson Jackie Penman told CBC Hamilton in an email Tuesday.

In August, CBC Hamilton reported the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) suspended Const. Renato Greco after CBC asked police about his public social media posts. Those included content under his name that was reshared from far-right groups, and included anti-immigrant messages and posts in support of a coup against the government. Police say they were unaware of Greco's online conduct until CBC Hamilton asked about it in July.

Following that initial reporting last summer, the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC) said it warned police about Greco in December, when it reported his vehicle sporting stickers related to a far-right group. Police said they investigated the complaint internally at the time after referring it to two law enforcement oversight agencies that declined to investigate. 

As soon as Hamilton police learned about Greco’s social media posts, Penman said, the service suspended him and referred the matter to the Halton Regional Police Service to investigate.

That investigation wrapped up in December, she said, and Hamilton police dealt with the matter in accordance with the Community Safety and Policing Act. 

“When concerns are raised about a member’s actions or conduct, they are taken seriously and addressed through established processes to ensure accountability and transparency, consistent with legislative requirements."

CBC Hamilton reviewed two of Greco's social media accounts going back as far as 2020. His posts on X and Threads were public and in his own name until he was suspended and changed them to private. The active X account reshared posts that included racist stereotypes about marginalized groups, support for white nationalist group Second Sons and one about "white genocide," from a white supremacist Second Sons member.

Analysis by CBC's visual investigations unit recently found Second Sons leaders welcome neo-Nazis into their ranks, call the official statistics of the Holocaust the product of “propagandists,” use racist slurs and say Canadian politicians should be executed.

In December 2020, Greco posted on X, saying, “The only way Canada will survive our compromised politicians is a coup by Canadian military and police.” 

During police board meetings since September, Chief Frank Bergen has faced questions about the police service’s response. 

On Jan. 22, board member Dr. Anjali Menezes moved a motion calling on the board to commission an “independent external review of the service with respect to hate symbols and hate groups by an appropriately qualified external reviewer with demonstrated expertise in anti-racism, hate symbols, hate groups and policing oversight.”

She said the review would also look at the policies and procedures the police service uses to monitor officer conduct determined to be “racist, anti-immigrant or anti-government.”