Racial profiling: Toronto police settle human rights complaint with man who was pulled over

Clem Marshall alleges he was told by an officer that he didn’t look like someone who could afford the expensive car he was driving when he was pulled over in Parkdale.
Racial profiling: Toronto police settle human rights complaint with man who was pulled over
Colin McConnell / Toronto Star
Clem Marshall, a Toronto man who launched a human rights complaint after he was pulled over by police in Parkdale in 2009, has settled with the board and the force for an undisclosed amount.
By: News reporter, Published on Tue May 14 2013
The city’s police board and the force have settled with a Toronto man who alleges in a human rights complaint that he was racially profiled when he was pulled over in Parkdale in 2009.
Clem Marshall, a former teacher with the Toronto public board, says an officer justified the stop by telling him he didn’t look like someone who could afford the black 2009 Nissan Altima he was driving.
“It’s not racial profiling,” said an officer according to Marshall’s complaint. “Two black guys driving a car like mine in Parkdale meant crack … That’s just the way it is,” the officer told Marshall, who is in his 60s.
“The taste of humiliation is extraordinary,” said Marshall in an interview Monday. “It’s like the taste of nothing else.” The Toronto resident said that at his age, the feelings were completely unexpected.
Marshall says he handed over his driver’s license, ownership and insurance, but when he asked why he was being pulled over, the officer yelled “Who do you think you are, f- - -ing Obama?”
“I was publicly humiliated because of my race,” wrote Marshall, a well-respected Africentric scholar.
Marshall and his passenger testified at the tribunal that the officers told him later he was pulled over because he didn’t make a full stop at an intersection, which they both dispute. In the end, the officers issued a $120 ticket because Marshall’s ownership wasn’t signed.
The complaint went to a full tribunal hearing in November, but midway through, the board and force said they wanted to settle. The terms of the settlement are confidential and neither the Toronto Police Service nor the board has admitted any liability.
Marshall said he will put the money toward organizing events where African-Canadian youth can share their experiences with the justice system and learn about their rights.