Emotional apology at disciplinary trial from police superintendent charged with misconduct

An emotional apology from a high-ranking Toronto police officer at a high-profile disciplinary hearing on Wednesday.

Supt. Stacy Clarke took the stand and spoke publicly for the first time, apologizing and expressing regret for her actions.

“This isn’t who my parents raised me to be,” Clarke testified at the penalty phase of her hearing, saying she was “overwhelmed with desperation.”

“I’m deeply remorseful for just entering down this particular path. It’s going to be difficult for people to understand what took place, why it took place, and I’m hoping that I’m able to tell the why.”

Clarke, the first Black woman to hold the rank in the service’s history, pleaded guilty to seven counts under the Police Services Act, including three counts each of breach of confidence and discreditable conduct.

In an agreed statement of facts, Clarke – while a member of promotional interview panels in 2021 – took pictures of questions and answer rubrics and sent them to six of her mentees who were seeking promotions to sergeant.

It says she also met with one of her mentees, a close family friend, over three days at her home where she held a mock interview and posed questions sometimes stripped word-for-word from those asked during panels the previous week.

She then sat on that officer’s promotional interview panel and did not disclose their friendship or mentor-mentee relationship.

Supporters gathered at police headquarters, arguing Clarke did not benefit in any way and was only trying to address equity problems in the police force and help more racialized officers reach senior positions. They point out the promotion process was biased with only 1.7 per cent of Black candidates who had gone up for promotion succeeding.

The tribunal is set to determine Clarke’s punishment which could range from a demotion to a dismissal.

Clarke’s lawyer has said she will agree to a demotion but should be reinstated to the rank of superintendent after one year. Toronto Police Service officials have said she should be demoted two ranks, reinstated as an inspector after one year and then work her way back to superintendent.

“Instead of demoting her they should give her an award for all the work that she has done,” said Herman Stewart, one of many community members on hand to support Clark. “It’s the severity of the discipline that is unjust and it’s just because she’s a Black woman.”

The Toronto Police Association previously said it would be keeping a close eye on the disciplinary hearing to see if “the outcome is fair and proportionate to the standard expected of a high-ranking senior officer.”

Clarke said Wednesday she has always been forthright about her goals to help others rise up through the ranks and that her focus is on gender and racial diversity.

“I still want to see progressive change,” Clarke said. “I plan on going as high as I can as an officer – make no mistake about that. This incident won’t stop me.”

Clarke returns to the stand on Thursday to be cross-examined.