A Toronto family is demanding a public apology from two Toronto Police officers, who were caught mocking a woman with Down syndrome on a dashcam recording.
The dashcam footage captured comments made by the officers describing the young woman as disfigured. The officers even go to the extent of using the term “artistic,” as a code word for disabled.
The two officers had pulled over Pamela Munoz and her two daughters for allegedly running a red light in December 2016. Munoz said she believed the light was amber, and was informed that the incident was recorded on the police car dashcam, and she could fight it in court.
Munoz received the footage as part of the disclosure, and overheard the officers mocking her daughter, Francie, in the recording. One of the two officers was also heard saying there were “two-and-a-half women,” and even made jokes about them nibbling on the pizza they had in the car.
“I feel hurt; it really hurt my feelings,” said Francie, 29, who went on to mention that she was disgusted by the comments made by the two officers.
The footage was marked as having no audio. Pamela said she believes the officers were unaware that they were being recorded, and was enraged by the two officers’ ‘inhumane’ comments and lack of respect.
"These are the people we've told Francie to trust, to go to when she needs help." Said Pamela.
The president of the Toronto Police Association said he has spoken with both officers, whom have both agreed to an apology and sensitivity training to make amends for their actions. Both Chief Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory have also reached out to the Munoz family, as well.
Francie said she hopes police officers will receive better training for dealing with people with disabilities. She is an advocate for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and has appeared in several videos discussing what life is like living with Down syndrome.
