Police chief apologises for bizarre and offensive ‘anal sex’ comments
Hamilton police chief Eric Girt had to apologise for his comments about anal sex. (Hamilton Police)
A Canadian police chief has apologised for comments he made about anal sex in a bizarre interview, in which he was supposed to be discussing how to keep the LGBT+ community safe.
Eric Girt is chief of police for Hamilton, Ontario, where a Pride event turned violent in June this year after it was crashed by an anti-gay group.
According to CBC, members of the group Servanthoods showed up at Hamilton Pride with anti-LGBT+ placards and loudspeakers.
When pro-LGBT+ demonstrators attempted to shield them from view with a black curtain, the situation turned violent with several people being assaulted.
Hamilton police were criticised for their handling of the event, with some saying they stood by while the violence occurred.
After the event, police arrested three pro-LGBT+ demonstrators, as well as a trans person who was not even at the event, while only arresting one anti-LGBT+ protestor.
Last month, a meeting was set up between Hamilton police and the LGBT+ community to discuss how to resolve tension between them.
Asked about the meeting by radio host Bill Kelly on Tuesday, September 10, Girt said the two entities were able to work together, and proved it by referencing working to end cruising in public bathrooms.
He said it was an “approach we had to take collectively… and you’ve got the complaint perspective from families”.
Girt added that police “worked collectively to say, ‘OK, we understand that. This may be not the best place to do it, and I understand that you’ve got consenting adults who do that, but it’s in a public place so there’s kind of got to strike the balance there'”.
Hamilton Pride turned violent. (soycrates/ Twitter)
Local residents called for Eric Girt’s resignation on social media over anal sex comments.
In response to the unequal arrests made, he spoke about freedom of speech and then returned to the topic, saying that it had not been long since “anal intercourse” was decriminalised.
He then added: “So when you have consenting adults who engaged, it was fine; if you have conditions where you’ve got a youth involved or anything, that’s a whole other ball of wax.”
With local residents calling for Girt’s resignation on social media, he was forced to apologise on Wednesday, September 11.
According to Queerty, he said: “Yesterday, I made statements on CHML that were offensive to the 2SLGBTQ+ community. These comments were made as I attempted to illustrate a point about legislative change.
“I appreciate the impact of the words I chose and for this, I apologise. I recognise the relationship with our 2SLGBTQ+ community is strained but I am committed to repairing this relationship and moving forward.”
