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Family of Regis ask those attending Toronto rally against anti-black racism to remain peaceful

AfroBiz • May 30, 2020
 The family of a woman who fell to her death from a High Park apartment building following an incident that is now being probed by the province’s police watchdog is asking those attending an afternoon rally in Toronto today to remain peaceful and safe.

Regis Korchinski-Paquet’s family did not organize today’s rally but released a statement on Saturday afternoon encouraging those participating in it to “remain peaceful in honour of Regis.”
“The family is thankful for the outpouring of support from the community and to the organizers of today’s event for bringing attention to this very serious matter,” the statement reads. “The family asks that anyone attending today’s event observe social distancing by-laws to ensure those attending are safe and remain peaceful in honour of Regis.”

 Thousands gather at Christie Pitts Park

Police say that roughly 3,500 people have already gathered at Christie Pitts Park and along Bloor Street for the rally, which is being organized by a group called ‘Not Another Black Life.’

In a series of messages posted to Twitter on Saturday, the group said that it is holding the event “for Regis” and “for every known and unknown black and indigenous life lost to police brutality and white supremacy.”

Police Chief Mark Saunders was also seen in the vicinity of the rally on Saturday and told CP24 that police just want to ensure it is as “peaceful of a protest as possible.”

"I just want to make sure that everything's okay," Saunders said. "When we look around and see the things that are happening, ideally you'd hope that there's an opportunity that people take the time to hear everything and based their actions on the truth and then figure out where collectively as a city, we can move forward."

It should be noted that Korchinski-Paquet’s death is still being investigated by the Special Investigations Unit and that few details are actually known about what happened inside the High Park apartment prior to her death.

Korchinski-Paquet’s family has said that they called police to help her get through a mental health crisis, though Saunders has said that the actual call was for an assault.

Speaking with reporters at event earlier in the day, Mayor John Tory said that Korchinski-Paquet’s death is a tragedy but he said that people should have faith in the fact that there is a “an independent process that will thoroughly investigate the incident” and “provide all of us with the answers that we all want.”

He said that he appreciates that people want to honour Korchinski-Paquet and make sure that her death is properly investigated and anticipates that today’s rally will be peaceful.

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