The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) will apologize to the LGBTQ2+ community next year.
In his final Coffee with the Chief, Rod Knecht said the force has not treated members of their community well in the past.
“We made some significant mistakes, and that’s caused harm to people,” Knecht said. “That’s caused people to be fearful of the police and not want to participate with the police.”
A group of queer and trans people of colour momentarily stopped last June’s pride parade to protest the police’s involvement. EPS, RCMP and the military were then banned from future parades.
In a statement to CTV News Tuesday, the Edmonton Pride Festival Society said, “a formal apology from EPS will be a good step in acknowledging the past wrongs against the LGBTQ2S+ community and an important first step forward in addressing the issues still faced by members of our community.”
Calgary police issued an apology to their LGBTQ2+ community last summer for “systematic discrimination.”
“We are sorry for the role we played in this painful part of your past,” Chief Roger Chaffin said.
EPS’ apology is expected to come in March—after Knecht is no longer chief.
“I think an apology has got to be a beginning, not an end,” he said.
“We want to be a very welcoming police service for everybody, and we want to be inclusive.”
With files from Dan Grummett
