Call it an arresting march.
Toronto Police and the RCMP proudly participated in New York City’s Pride March last weekend in full uniform, which the Pride Toronto membership banned from this year’s parade in Canada’s largest city.
A renewed animosity towards TPS bubbled up within parts of the LGBTQ2+ community over the police handling of missing gay men in the Gay Village.
Many members in the the gay community vocalized their disappointment, accusing investigators of not doing enough to connect the dots sooner in serial killer Bruce McArthur’s murder spree of at least eight men in the first seven years of this decade.
Others defended TPS, saying McArthur eluded police for so long because he was meticulous in his strangulation and disposal of his victims.
Toronto officers were warmly welcomed by parade-goers in NYC, where they waved “We The North” and Canadian flags splashed in the LGBTQ2+ rainbow.
Uniformed Toronto Police officers last participated in Toronto Pride back in 2016, when Black Lives Matter protesters hijacked the parade, demanding organizers agree to a list of demands that included banning involvement of uniformed officers.
The ban continued in the 2017 and 2018 parades, and while police were briefly re-welcomed to 2019’s event, a split vote of 163-161 by Toronto Pride members reinstated the exclusion.
Mayor John Tory has said it is “disappointing” uniformed TPS at Toronto Pride are prohibited from taking part in the city’s parade.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
