pc28police were “used” to go after a Chinese Canadian couple embroiled in a landlord and tenant dispute over alleged anti-Asian racism in a Rosedale apartment building, according to a complaint filed with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD).
In their complaint, tenants Dot and Paul Pang also say an officer involved in the case made Facebook posts last year that they describe as “offensive with overt tones of racial animus.” The Pangs allege Const. Timothy Somers’ personal social media posts reveal an underlying racial bias that may have affected his judgment “when it came to us, a Chinese-speaking couple.”
The Pangs claim Somers and other officers working out of pc28police 53 Division were “enabling and supporting” the landlord and a group of other tenants in a long-running dispute dating back to 2011 — one year after they moved into One Rosedale.
The landlord and tenants, the Pangs allege, used police as “intimidation” and made allegations about their mental health in a “weaponizing” way to influence how police dealt with them, “the only non-whites in a building in the predominantly white, wealthy enclave of Rosedale.”
The couple has made a separate application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, alleging racist behaviour by tenants and the landlord of One Rosedale Road. That application went to mediation this week.
None of the allegations in either the OIPRD complaint and the human rights application have been proven, and the respondents in the rights complaint deny them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Pang refused to have any constructive dialogue with their neighbours and instead made numerous allegations, which are strongly denied,” the tenants named in the human rights application said in an emailed statement to the Star, via their lawyer Adnan Subzwari.
They pointed to a third-party investigation done years ago on behalf of the landlord that “found no evidence of racial discrimination” at the building.
Some tenants have also alleged the Pangs are homophobic, which the couple denies. One tenant named as a respondent in the Pangs’ human rights application last year launched a defamation suit against the couple after the Pangs crafted and circulated letters to the landlord about “Institutional Racism and White Privilege in Rosedale.”
Police, including Somers, were involved in multiple calls for service over the years, including a 2020 complaint about those same letters, according to documents obtained by the Pangs.
pc28police sent two officers on two consecutive days to One Rosedale over the complaint about the letters, the Pangs state in their OIPRD filings, questioning why police would be investigating, yet again, a non-criminal matter.
Documents the Pangs obtained through freedom of information requests show them being portrayed as instigators in the dispute, when they say they were the victims. In a 2016 email obtained by the couple, Somers writes that “the bottom line is, the bulk of the information we have is that the Pangs are the instigators of many of the issues, this is simply because of the number of complaints against them.”
The Pangs say that in their experience with Somers and 53 Division, “it is no surprise that racialized communities are apprehensive about reaching out to TPS.”
In their application to the Human Rights Tribunal, the Pangs alleged two periods of discrimination against them at the building. An adjudicator dismissed all occurrences for one of the periods, but ruled the other would proceed.
Since the rights case is before the tribunal, Aubrey Hannah — general manager of One Rosedale Road Inc., the landlord — said he did not “wish to comment on this matter.”
Police are also not commenting, since a formal complaint has now been made.
Dot and Paul Pang, seen here in a May 30, 2017, file photo.
Jim Rankin / pc28StarPart of the story of One Rosedale has already landed before the Landlord and Tenant Board — and in the pc28Star. In 2017, One Rosedale Rd. Inc. launched a failed effort to evict the Pangs for “substantially” interfering with other tenants’ enjoyment of the place.
A 2017 Star story explored the history of interactions the Pangs had with tenants, including an alleged break-in to their apartment that went unsolved and incidents of alleged anti-Asian racism. In one instance, the words “CRAZY CHINESE” were written on a defaced poster.
A third-party investigator hired by the landlord called the Pangs “outsiders to the social fabric of 1 Rosedale,” and found the couple genuinely felt they were being discriminated against but that discrimination by any individuals could not be proven.
Police are not named as respondents in the couple’s human rights complaint. But the case details their involvement in mostly non-criminal matters in the building where the couple — Dot is a former journalist, and Paul works in banking — still live. In 2017, police told the Star police involvements were about “various tenant issues” and that there had been police attempts at “mediation and other means” to resolve them.
The Pangs said they decided to file their complaint to the OIPRD after coming across posts Somers, the key officer involved in the One Rosedale dispute, made on his publicly accessible Facebook page last year following the death of George Floyd.
According to frame grabs made by the Pangs and shared with the Star, Somers wrote that Black Lives Matter is a “hate group that must be eliminated by the government” and that “police are not a threat to black lives, black people are a threat to each other!”
In another post, he shared content that has since been deleted, with a headline above it calling for a “WHITE STRIKE — POLICE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!” In another, he wrote that the “perception of racism is a myth,” and in yet another, he attacks the CBC, CTV, Global and other media for “reinforcing a racially motivated narrative that is not representative of the vast majority of people!”
In their complaint, the Pangs wrote that Somers’s comments are “inappropriate” for a police officer “with immense responsibilities” to himself, fellow officers and the public.
“After viewing his posts this summer,” the Pangs wrote, “we have serious concerns with how police … have dealt with cases involving us,” adding that the posts reveal an underlying racial bias, that may have “affected (Somers’) judgment when it came to us, a Chinese-speaking couple.”
The Pangs are asking the OIPRD to delve into Somers’ involvement in all incidents involving them.
Somers did not respond to emails and a phone message from the Star seeking comment. Police corporate communications confirmed Somers is aware of the complaint. It is rare for police officers to comment on matters that are the subject of a complaint.
Somers’ Facebook posts were deleted after the Star contacted him and also sought comment from the police service.
The service does have a procedure around social media use, police spokesperson Connie Osborne said in an email. The policy includes personal use, and that any “content of those postings not jeopardize the integrity and reputation of the service, or the reputation or safety of other persons.”
The Pangs contacted the police hate crimes unit about the incidents at the building. It had some involvement but the case wound up back in the hands of 53 Division, which typically makes the call on whether it needs assistance from the unit.
Noting a spike in anti-Asian racism following the pandemic, the Pangs wrote in their complaint that “harassment” against them continues into 2021 — including false mental health reports to police about them.
“This is a case of systemic and institutional racism,” the couple writes in the complaint.
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