Toronto police officers who die by suicide will soon be eligible to be named on the force’s memorial wall “if they meet specific criteria” following a settlement with Ontario’s Human Rights Commission. “Today’s agreement creates an opportunity for the Service to respectfully recognize those who have died, regardless of cause of death, by appropriately commemorating those who, through their actions, demonstrated the noble qualities of policing and inspired those who continue to serve,” said Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray in a news release Thursday. Until now, officers who committed suicide after incurring a job-related mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, were not eligible to be named on either on the memorial wall at the Toronto Police College or on the honour roll wall at Toronto police headquarters. In 2015, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) made the rare move of filing a claim to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, alleging the practice was discriminatory. According to a statement from the OHRC Wednesday, Toronto police will develop criteria for inclusion on the memorial wall by Oct. 31 “to ensure that members who die from mental health injuries sustained in the line of duty have the same opportunity to be included on the memorial wall.”

Source: thestar April 20, 2017 15:56 UTC