Police to apologize for gay 1981 bathhouse raids

Toronto police will apologize for 1981 gay bathhouse raids. It is unclear if compensation is offered. When police stormed four gay bathhouses in Toronto on Feb. 5, 1981, patrons were mocked, humiliated — and arrested by the hundreds. The raids outed men who considered the private clubs a sanctuary, free from the hostility of a populace who disapproved of, or didn’t understand, intimacy between men. On Wednesday, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders will make a historic apology for the raids at his annual Pride reception at police headquarters, the Star has learned. He will also apologize for a 2000 raid by six male officers on Club Toronto during a women’s bathhouse event known as the “Pussy Palace.” Police claimed to be searching for liquor violations. Many of the women were nude and felt violated, according to a story in the Star. Police settled a civil suit in 2005. The Toronto Police Service worked with prominent gay activist Rev. Brent Hawkes to craft the apology, a source said. The chief’s event will be an acknowledgment of the past and a commitment to efforts going forward, with new initiatives that speak directly to the LGBTQ community, the source said. Saunders plans to march in the Pride Parade on July 3, following in the footsteps of Bill Blair who became the first Toronto police chief to do so in 2005. In the west part of Metro Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga have not had any profile raids worth noting