durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, May 26, 2022 | 8 NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN It's in your hands. The Readers' Choice Awards were created for you to tell us which local businesses and service providers are the best at what they do! Once the nominations close, the nominees will be shortlisted and you will have another chance to vote for your favourite. NOMINATE TODAY to help make your favourite local business become a Readers' Choice Nominee. durhamregion.com Living in a society in which federal, provincial and municipal laws and by-laws have been enacted, amended and replaced for the safety of all citizens regardless of ethnicity, religion, nationality and culture is wonderful. These laws and bylaws make up a system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it- may enforce by the imposition of penalties. Ensuring conformity to the laws is the responsibility of agencies and individuals who are empowered to uphold and apply equitable justice to all. For many people, their first and only contact with the law is by way of police officers. The job of a police officer is crucial to maintaining safety and security but one that is not suitable to every person. I have lived in Canada long enough to remember the days when the only required scholastic achievement for entry into policing was high school Grade 12 graduation or its equivalent and satisfying specific height and weight requirements. These abysmal minimum requirements unfortunately paved the way for undesirables to become police officers without adequate cultural sensitivity training. Though requirements have changed tremendously, there are still members who harbour prejudice, discrimination and blatantly racist views and opinions. The following two examples south of the border should suffice. In August of 2020, as the world cried out for justice for George Floyd's murder at the hands of police, the quiet town of Tiburon, California was mismanaging its own officer encounters with the public. Married couple Yema Khalif and Hawi Awash were approached by an officer late one night as they restocked their Main Street sportswear store. Yema, the menswear boutique that bears the same name as one its owners, was the town's only Black-owned business, which was apparently all that was needed to draw attention from racist cops. Officer Isaac Madfes came into the store after closing around 1 a.m. on the night of Aug. 21, 2021. Madfes proceeded to ask what they were doing in the shop so late, interrogating the owners as they remained calm. The full incident was captured on Madfes' body cam. "Is there a problem?" Khalif said. "I don't want to argue," the officer said. "I just want you to tell me why you're here." Khalif asked to speak to a supervising officer, and when Sgt. Michael Blasi arrived on the scene, he asked Khalif to insert his key in the lock to prove his ownership of the building. Just as he was about to give in to the sergeant's demand, a white male neighbour interjected by shouting, "That's his store!" from his balcony. The officers left shortly thereafter. Sadly, as Black folks know, what happened is not an anomaly by any means. Recently, a video of an eight-year-old Black boy being detained by police officers in Syracuse over allegedly stealing a bag of chips went viral. It leads me to believe police forces have been designed to safeguard white supremacy by dehumanizing and vilifying Black people. This is why an eight-year- old Black boy is handled with such ferocity by police when accused of stealing a bag of chips while a 21-year-old mass murderer is treated to fast food after killing a group of Black churchgoers. Whitby resident Raphael Francis is the past president of the Pickering Carib-Canadian Cultural Association and is striving for an equitable, diverse and inclusive society. COLUMNIST ON BLACK ENCOUNTERS WITH POLICE OPINION RAPHAEL FRANCIS SAYS SOME POLICE LET BIAS GET IN THE WAY OF JUSTICE RAPHAEL FRANCIS Column Though requirements have changed tremendously, there are still (police) members who harbour prejudice, discrimination and blatantly racist views and opinions.