Police seek man in alleged “hate-motivated” incident in the Beach earlier this month
Toronto police are investigating an alleged “hate motivated” mischief incident in the Beach earlier this month.
According to police, officers were called to the Woodbine Avenue and Queen Street East area for a reported incident in which a man allegedly urinated on the front steps of a place of worship while shouting antisemitic slurs.
The incident took place at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, and police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect.
The male suspect is described as early 20s, five-feet, 10-inches tall, with a medium build, medium length brown hair and clean shaven.
He was wearing a dark baseball cap, with an unknown logo on the front and unknown writing on the back, a white t-shirt with a black lettered ‘NIRVANA’ decal on the left chest and a large image of the NIRVANA band on the back, light grey shorts with a small logo printed evenly all over the shorts and white running shoes.
In a news release issued on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 25, police said investigators are treating the alleged incident “as a suspected hate-motivated offence.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Toronto police Hate Crime Unit at 416-808-3500, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 or online at https://www.222tips.com
In Wednesday’s news release, police said that when suspected hate-motivated offences are reported to police, the investigation is led by the Hate Crime Unit (HCU).
“If it is alleged a criminal offence was committed (such as assault or mischief) and it is believed to have been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate, the officer-in-charge may consult with the Crown. If a person is charged and convicted of the offence, the Judge will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence,” said the news release.
“Wilful promotion of hatred and advocating genocide are hate propaganda (hate speech) offences which require the Attorney General’s consent to lay charges. These charges are often laid at a later time.”
