A Carleton University criminology professor recently made peace with the Ottawa Police Association (OPA) to bring officers’ lived experiences into the classroom.
Darryl Davies was the subject of a 2014 controversy after a guest speaker in his class criticized two Ottawa police officers’ arrest of a homeless man.
The incident resulted in charges against the two officers that were later stayed after a judge found the guest speaker’s evidence to be uncredible.
“Matt Skof, the president of the OPA, demanded an apology from me, saying that I had libeled and slandered their officers,” Davies said. “Skof then said he was going to cut ties with Carleton — no longer have any dealings.”
Skof opted to completely disengage from university projects and stop providing interviews to journalism students at Carleton, Davies said.
Davies said he was not in contact with the OPA, until Skof, facing breach of trust and obstruction of justice charges, resigned in April 2022. But when Det. Const. Matthew Cox assumed the presidential role, Davies said he decided “to do something different.”
“I decided I’d reach out to [Cox] and see if there’s a way we could compromise,” Davies said.
Cox said he met Davies for lunch and arranged for police officers to speak to Davies’ policing in society class during the fall 2023 term. Davies said he saw the meeting as a “tremendous turning point” for the OPA’s relationship with the university.
“I was very happy to have [Davies] reach out to me to have these discussions,” Cox said. “I’ve been taking a very different approach, and I think collaboration is very important.”
“Our duty [at the OPA] is not to protect, but it’s to represent.”
Davies said combining the officers’ shared experiences with the academic aspects of the course gives students a better education in policing issues.
“The students really enjoy it,” he added.
‘Real conversations are happening’
Deeya Sumra, a fourth-year criminology student in Davies’ class, said she “loves” the new arrangement between Davies and the police association.
“It feels like real conversations are happening, instead of professors just touching upon [issues in policing] without going into depth,” she said. “We talk about real things that happen.”
Alanna Wolfe, a fifth-year criminology student in Davies’ class, said she thinks the guest lectures could represent a future of positive change within police culture, though she remains cautiously optimistic.
“I am also looking at it with a grain of salt,” she said. “They’re not going to bring the bad apples of policing to come and lecture to a class of potential future officers.”
Michael Fiorino, a fourth-year criminology student in the class, said the class has offered him a “different perspective” on policing.
“[During] the whole program we learn about the issues that are present in policing, and rightfully so,” he said.
So far this semester, the OPA’s two guest lectures have addressed the association’s function and mental health in policing, according to Wolfe. The third and final guest lecture will examine forensics.
Sumra and Fiorino said the guest lectures taught them a lot about the OPA.
“I figured they’re a union like any other union,” he said. “I didn’t realize how involved they actually [are] in the everyday running of the police.”
The OPA provides legal representation for officers facing trial, Fiorino said, but also organizes sports leagues for officers and their loved ones.
During the guest lecture on mental health, Wolfe said she appreciated how one OPA speaker explained the prevalence of mental health stigmas in policing.
“It was promising to me that they’re recognizing these things and they want to see a change,” Wolfe said.
“Police officers today have one of the highest suicide rates compared to the general population,” Davies said. “Some of [my students] will apply to join the police service, and they will one day be policing our neighbourhoods.”
‘Every right to criticize’
Cox added he has already resumed giving interviews to Carleton journalism students.
“I have no problem with granting interviews,” Cox said. “If we can educate [the public on] why some decisions are made, or why something happened the way it happened, I think that’s important.”
Davies said the decision to reinstate interviews reflects that “police are accountable to members of the public.”
“[The police have] a role to play in society, but citizens have every right to criticize,” he said. “I think that our relationship with the OPA is now going to be very beneficial to the citizens of Ottawa. I think that it’s a sign of the times.”
