War of words between Toronto police, TV reporter who alleged racism
TORONTO — A war of words has erupted between Toronto police and a broadcast journalist who claims she was pulled over because she is black.
Marci Ien, a co-host for CTV’s “The Social,” wrote an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail this week alleging racism played a role in her recent traffic stop outside her home.
“For the third time in eight months, I was being questioned by a police officer — and I had broken no law,” Ien wrote in the piece published on Monday. “If you are black in Canada, you are subject to a different standard and, often, seemingly, different laws.”
Senior Toronto police officers have since taken to social media to dispute her version of events, saying video shows Ien failed to stop at a stop sign and that her race wasn’t visible until after the officer pulled her over.