Gerry McNeilly

Last updated

Gerry McNeilly
Education York University Bachelor of Arts
Queen's University Bachelor of Law
Alma mater York University Bachelor of Arts
Occupation Office of the Independent Police Review Director
Years active2008–2019

Gerry McNeilly (born 1950s) is a lawyer who was the Ontario's Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) from its creation in 2008 (opened 19 October 2009) to 1 April 2019 when the position was filled in an interim capacity by the previous deputy director Sylvana Capogreco. The OIPRD is a civilian body operating under Attorney General of Ontario with powers invested through Public Inquiries Act to investigate complaints about municipal police forces and the Ontario Provincial Police. [1]

Contents

Education

McNeilly graduated from York University (Bachelor of Arts) and Queen's University (Bachelor of Laws).[ citation needed ]

Career

Prior to his current position, McNeilly served in legal roles in the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. He was Executive Director of Legal Aid Manitoba 1999–2008, Chair of the Board of Inquiry for the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal 1995–1999, Justice of the Peace (Ontario), and Deputy Provincial Judge (Ontario). [1] On 4 September 2019, he was appointed as one of the foreign experts to Hong Kong's Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) to help ensure the IPCC's probe into allegations of police brutality during recent unrest in Hong Kong was credible and free of bias. [2] On 11 December 2019, he and other foreign experts resigned because "a crucial shortfall was evident in the powers, capacity and independent investigative capability of IPCC." [3]

Office of the Independent Police Review Director

McNeilly's role as Director of OIPRD began in 2008. [1] [4] The National Post described the OIPRD as an "arm's-length civilian agency" operated under the Attorney General of Ontario. [4] As Office Director, McNeilly can order police investigations, searches, seizures, and can "subpoena documents and witnesses, including chiefs of police" under the Public Inquiries Act. [4]

He can recommend, but not order disciplinary action against officers or that police procedure be changed. Prior to the creation of the Office, complaints about police were "handled internally" by police departments. [4]

In its first six months the OIPRD handled 2,400 complaints. [4]

One of his largest and highest-profile investigations was the review of police conduct during the 2010 G-20 Toronto summit in response to 300 complaints. [4]

McNeilly was the lead author on the OIPRD's 208-page report entitled "Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service" which was released in December 2018. The report concluded that TBPS needed to "improve its relationship with Indigenous communities" and that it needs to "ensure that its investigations are timely, effective and non-discriminatory. [5] :195

Controversy

The position of the OIRPD director was assumed by the prior deputy director Sylvana Capogreco in an interim capacity effective 1 April 2019. The decision to end his directorship before finding a permanent replacement raises questions as to its relation to the Divisional Court finding that he changed the decision of a complaint against Toronto Police Service (TPS) Constable Chris Howes from substantiated to unsubstantiated after he had communications with the TPS outside of the complaint process." [6]

Related Research Articles

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attorney General of Ontario</span> Attorney general for the Canadian province of Ontario

The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario and oversees the Ministry of the Attorney General – the department responsible for the oversight of the justice system in the province of Ontario. The Attorney General is an elected Member of Provincial Parliament who is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario on the constitutional advice of the Premier of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Police Complaints Commission</span> Defunct public body for police oversight in England and Wales

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Investigations Unit (Ontario)</span>

The Special Investigations Unit is the civilian oversight agency in the province of Ontario in Canada responsible for investigating circumstances involving police that have resulted in a death or serious injury, or if a firearm was discharged at a person. The unit also investigates allegations of sexual assault. The unit's goal is to ensure that criminal law is applied appropriately to police conduct, as determined through independent investigations, increasing public confidence in the police services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Police Services Board</span>

The Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) is the civilian police board that governs the Toronto Police Service (TPS). The board is responsible for approving the annual police budget, defining objectives and policies for TPS, and hiring Toronto's police chief.

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission, previously known as the Ontario Police Commission and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services, is an independent quasi-judicial agency, and is one of the 13 adjudicative tribunals overseen by the Ministry of the Attorney General that make up Tribunals Ontario. The OCPC hears appeals, adjudicates applications, conducts investigations and resolves disputes regarding the oversight and provision of policing services in Ontario.

Police misconduct refers to inappropriate conduct and illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Types of misconduct include among others: coerced false confession, intimidation, false arrest, false imprisonment, falsification of evidence, spoliation of evidence, police perjury, witness tampering, police brutality, police corruption, racial profiling, unwarranted surveillance, unwarranted searches, and unwarranted seizure of property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime and Corruption Commission</span> State government commission in Queensland, Australia

The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) is an independent Queensland Government entity created to combat and reduce the incidence of major crime and to continuously improve the integrity of, and to reduce the incidence of misconduct in, the Queensland public sector. Formerly the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) 2002–2014. The CCC also has a witness protection function. The commission was established on 1 January 2002, when the former Criminal Justice Commission and the Queensland Crime Commission were merged into a single entity under the name Crime and Misconduct Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Police Complaints Council</span> Hong Kong police oversight body

The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) is a civilian body of the Government of Hong Kong, part of the two-tier system in which the Hong Kong Police Force investigates complaints made by the public against its members and the IPCC monitors those investigations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plebgate</span> Political scandal regarding Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell

"Plebgate" was a British political scandal which started in September 2012. The trigger was an altercation between Conservative MP and Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell and police officers on duty outside Downing Street. Leaked police logs, later apparently backed up by eyewitness evidence, suggested that Mitchell had sworn at police officers and called them "plebs" when they refused to open the main gate for him as he attempted to leave with his bicycle, telling him to walk through the adjacent pedestrian gate instead. Mitchell apologised, stating that he had used bad language but denied using the words claimed and in particular calling police officers "plebs". However, finding his position untenable amid the media storm surrounding the incident, he resigned from the post of Chief Whip a month later.

Deborah Glass is an Australian lawyer, who has been the Victorian Ombudsman since March 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carding (police policy)</span> Police intelligence gathering method

In Canada, carding, officially known in Ontario as the Community Contacts Policy, is an intelligence gathering policy involving the stopping, questioning, and documenting of individuals when no particular offence is being investigated. The interactions take place in public, private or any place police have contact with the public. The information collected is kept on record in the Field Information Report (FIR) database. FIRs include details including the individuals' gender, race, the reason for the interaction, location, and the names of any associates, to build a database for unspecified future use. Officially, individuals are not legally detained, but this distinction is not clear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of the Independent Police Review Director</span>

The Office of the Independent Police Review Director is an independent civilian oversight agency that handles public complaints regarding police conduct in the Canadian province of Ontario. The agency oversees municipal police services and the Ontario Provincial Police.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales which, since 8 January 2018, is responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. Most allegations of police misconduct are investigated by police forces' own professional standards departments. However the IOPC does conduct independent investigations of serious allegations of misconduct or criminal offences by police officers and other law enforcement officers. 'Mandatory' referrals are usually made to the IOPC should a person die or sustain serious injuries following police contact. Additionally, a force's professional standards department may also make a 'voluntary' referral – in which a force will ask the IOPC to consider if they wish to investigate independently, supervise a force professional standards investigation, or decline and refer the investigation back to the force to investigate without any IOPC input. The office received over 4300 referrals from police forces and completed about 700 investigations in the 2019/20 year.

Between 2010 and 2017, a total of eight men disappeared from the neighbourhood of Church and Wellesley, the gay village of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The investigation into the disappearances, taken up by two successive police task forces, eventually led to Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old self-employed Toronto landscaper, whom they arrested on January 18, 2018. On January 29, 2019, McArthur pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder in Ontario Superior Court and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for twenty-five years. McArthur is the most prolific known serial killer to have been active in Toronto, and the oldest known serial killer in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019–2020 Hong Kong protests</span> Pro-democracy demonstrations and other civil disobediences

The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill on extradition. It is one of the largest series of demonstrations in the history of Hong Kong, with thousands arrested in violent scenes. By mid-2020, the Hong Kong government had declared the restoration of peace and stability with the imposition of the national security law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police misconduct allegations during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests</span> Aspect of 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests

The conduct of the Hong Kong Police Force is a subject of controversy during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. Tactics employed by the force have led to misconduct allegations and protesters have accused the Hong Kong government of using the police as a method to resolve a "lingering political crisis." Actions taken by the police force and the Hong Kong government have caused mixed reactions inside Hong Kong and in the general international community. Allegations against the police include excessive use of force, force against unspecific targets, and arrest without warrant. These allegations have been presented in various media both supporting and detracting from the complaints, such as through amateur video. In general, the spirit, rumors, videos, and other media shared by the public have caused a drop in support for the police force, and an Amnesty International report accused the police of using excessive force against civilians. One of the objectives of the 2019–2020 protests is establishment of an independent inquiry system into said allegations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Uk Ling Holding Centre</span> Hong Kong detention centre

San Uk Ling Holding Centre is a detention centre in Man Kam To, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is located in a remote area, a few hundred metres from the Man Kam To Control Point, a border crossing facility between Hong Kong and China. San Uk Ling Holding Centre opened in July 1979 to house illegal immigrants prior to their repatriation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12 June 2019 Hong Kong protest</span>

Intense confrontation between anti-extradition bill protesters and the Hong Kong Police Force occurred on 12 June 2019 outside the Government Headquarters in Admiralty, Hong Kong Island. The protest was sparked by the government's introduction of the controversial Fugitive Offenders amendment bill, which was set to go through second reading on 12 June despite mass opposition.

The death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Indigenous-Ukrainian-Black Canadian woman, occurred in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 27, 2020. Responding to multiple 911 calls from Korchinski-Paquet, her mother, and her brother, for a domestic disturbance involving punches, thrown bottles, and knives, police attended her apartment. Subsequent to the arrival of police, Korchinski-Paquet fell to the ground 24 stories below, and died at the scene. Her family accused the Toronto Police Service of having played a role in her death, which led to a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation. The SIU announced in late August 2020 it had cleared all police officers of wrongdoing and found no evidence of police involvement in her death.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gerry McNeilly Nominated As Director Of New Police Review System". news.ontario.ca. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. "IPCC announces membership of International Expert Panel" (PDF). Independent Police Complaints Council (Hong Kong). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. Kuo, Lily (11 December 2019). "Foreign experts quit Hong Kong police brutality inquiry over lack of powers". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wallace, Kenyon (24 July 2010). "Police complaint director thrust into limelight". National Post. Retrieved 30 December 2018. As the province's newly minted Independent Police Review Director, Mr. McNeilly is tasked with handling all public complaints against police in Ontario
  5. McNeilly, Gerry (December 2018). Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service (PDF) (Report). Toronto, Ontario: Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD). p. 208. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  6. Perkel, Colin (9 January 2019). "Watchdog rapped after secret chats with Toronto cops led to nixed misconduct findings". Toronto Star. Retrieved 10 September 2019. Back-channel chats that led Ontario's police watchdog to set aside its own finding of misconduct against an officer were inappropriate and undermined the integrity of the process, an appeal court has ruled
Legal offices
Preceded by
TBD
Director of the Legal Aid Manitoba
19992008
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by
new position
Office of the Independent Police Review Director
2008
Succeeded by
incumbent