(Via York Regional Police)
A police officer in Ontario, Canada, is facing charges for not investigating racial threats against himself, according to a report in the Toronto Star.
Constable Dameian Muirhead, a cop with the York Regional Police, will attend disciplinary hearings this week over an incident that occurred during a holiday long weekend in May, 2011.
Muirhead faces charges of insubordination, discreditable conduct and neglect of duty after he was subjected to racial taunts by partygoers at a crime scene he was attending.
On the Victoria Day long weekend in May, Constable Muirhead and two other officers were dispatched to an incident on a farm where a woman was seriously injured after being run over by a four-wheeler at a party.
According to the report, Muirhead told police investigators that he and the two other officers immediately met with abuse from the approximately 15 intoxicated partygoers.
As Muirhead and his partners investigated the woman’s assault, he was repeatedly subjected to racial epithets.
Fall in love with policing! Challenge yourself everyday and become a @yrp police officer. #YRPRecruiting
— York Regional Police (@YRP) February 14, 2013
In his report, Muirhead says he ignored the comments and remained professional as he checked out licence plates and attempted to identify suspects.
Things devolved even further when, as he was running a motorcycle licence plate, a leather jacket fell to the ground.
At this point a partygoer aggressively approached him, ordering him to “Pick up my (expletive) jacket,” according to Muirhead.
In his report to police superiors, Muirhead says he stepped back to de-escalate the situation while a fellow officer and the man who owned the jacket clashed verbally, with the motorcyclist calling the cop a “(expletive) pig.”
The treatment of Dameian Muirhead is disgraceful. However, and to his credit, he has competent legal counsel so… fb.me/1V826ubFC
— Mr. Toronto Lawyer (@selwynpieters) February 26, 2013
As hostilities escalated, the racial taunts continued, with partygoers commenting on the darkness of his skin. At this point someone was heard to say, “I would love to see that guy hanging from a tree,” according to Muirhead.
One of the partygoers, Rheal Duguay of Aurora, Ontario, later filed a complaint against Muirhead to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director. His complaint did not refer to any racial comments or threats.
That complaint was then referred to York Regional Police, who charged Muirhead for not investigating the racial threats against himself.
