Another Toronto cop has been caught up in the promotions scandal, the Sun has learned.
Looking stern and displeased, Staff Sgt. Kirwin Marshall made his first appearance, albeit virtually, at a disciplinary tribunal Thursday on Police Act charges alleging he exchanged texts with Supt. Stacy Clarke that contained “racist or ethnic stereotypes.”
Clarke, a once-rising star whose promotion to superintendent in 2021 was heralded by TPS as “the first Black woman to achieve the position in Toronto Police Service’s 183-year-old history” is facing seven charges herself that were laid earlier this year for allegedly sharing interview questions with six candidates vying for promotion.
According to the notice of hearing, Marshall was assisting Clarke in the fall of 2021 with mentoring officers through the promotional process of constable to sergeant.
In November 2021, Clarke was told to stop mentoring candidates as she would be part of the interview panel.
But the notice alleges that in late November, Clarke sent photos of the interview questions to six of the officers she was mentoring. She’s also accused of continuing in-person counselling to one candidate at her home in early December, including conducting a mock interview using real questions from panels she’d sat on days earlier.
The notice alleges Clarke later participated in that officer’s interview without disclosing her conflict of interest.
In December 2021, Clarke’s cell phone was seized as part of the internal investigation into the alleged promotions scandal. According to the notice in Marshall’s hearing, investigators found text messages between him and Clarke that were “inconsistent with the service’s core values.”
“During your conversations with Supt. Clarke, you made comments that belittled the Pride parade, contained racist or ethnic stereotypes and were insulting to senior officers of the organization,” the notice alleges.
Marshall’s case has been put over to Nov. 1.
Post a Comment