Systemic failure to promote Black officers under microscope as superintendent apologizes for helping racialized police cheat

In emotional and raw testimony at a disciplinary tribunal, the first Black female superintendent in the Toronto Police Service apologized for helping racialized constables cheat a promotional exam.

In emotional and raw testimony at a disciplinary tribunal, the first Black female superintendent in the Toronto Police Service apologized for helping racialized constables cheat a promotional exam.

But the hearing also delved into how unfair the hiring process was to Black candidates to begin with and how a plan to fix it that was approved by a civilian oversight board was cancelled without warning months before her actions.

“It was tremendously important for me to take responsibility for what I had done. I know it was not the right path,” Supt. Stacy Clarke told the disciplinary hearing.

Clarke said she remained loyal to the Toronto Police Service despite the ostracization she felt after the misconduct allegations were made public.

But through her testimony and that of McGill Professor Wendell Adjetey, the tribunal looked at what Clarke called “the why,” which came down to a systemic failure to promote Black officers.

Adjetey highlighted a 2021 Toronto Police Services Board meeting where then-mayor John Tory asked the service whether it had structured the promotion process in a way that disadvantaged Black candidates.

“Maybe ask the chief and the service to do a little bit more to look into this and to decide if there’s something wrong,” Tory said at the time, pointing to statistics that of a pool of 58 Black applicants, 13.7 per cent were interviewed, and 1.7 per cent were hired.