Hamilton police constable suspended after posting content from extremist groups, following CBC investigation

CBC

3 days ago

Hamilton police have suspended a longtime officer while they review his social media posts, which include content re-shared from far-right groups, anti-immigrant messages and posts in support for a coup against the government.
Following a CBC visual investigation into white nationalist "active clubs" training in the Hamilton area, a reader contacted CBC Hamilton to share they had noticed a social media user with the same name as a Hamilton constable, Renato Greco, re-posting extremist content.
One post dated July 14 of this year was a share on social media site X of an account that said "you love to see it" with a picture of the group Second Sons gathering in Nova Scotia in July.
Second Sons is one of the groups the CBC investigation identified as hosting active club gatherings recently in the area.
Police spokesperson Adam Kimber told CBC on Aug. 5 the service "was not previously aware of the social media activity in question," but started an investigation once CBC Hamilton informed it.
Kimber said Hamilton police suspended Greco with pay, and "should the investigation determine that the conduct is in breach of our standards, appropriate discipline will follow."
Hamilton police also issued a news release Monday reiterating that a member of the service has been suspended after it discovered "disturbing" social media posts "first brought to the service's attention by a media outlet." It said an investigation was underway.
"The Hamilton Police Service holds all members to the highest standards of professionalism, conduct, and impartiality. Any expression of views or support for groups that promote hate or discrimination is contrary to the values of our organization and our duty to serve everyone in our community," the release said.
"Such conduct is unacceptable and does not reflect the policies, ethics, or expectations of the Hamilton Police Service," added Kimber in his email to CBC.
Officer with force since 2002
Greco has been with the force since 2002, Kimber said. A post on The Governor General of Canada's website said he was awarded the Police Exemplary Service Medal in 2023. The HPS website refers to him as a constable in a post in 2022.
After CBC contacted police, his X account went from public to private.
CBC Hamilton reached Greco by phone and asked if he would comment on his posts and the investigation. He declined. CBC also sent a detailed message to his Facebook account but did not receive a response.
In an email, Hamilton Police Association president Jaimi Bannon told CBC Hamilton the police union is aware of the allegations and investigation against Greco and is helping him navigate the investigation process. "The association will not comment on the allegations while the matter is under investigation."
Constable posted police and military should stage a coup
CBC Hamilton reviewed Greco's account, going back as far as 2020 until this summer. The very active account re-shared posts that included racist stereotypes about marginalized groups on July 18, one that said "diversity means white genocide" on July 14, and re-shares of posts by Jeremy MacKenzie, the founder of Diagolon, on July 10 and 18.
Greco's account also shared content related to Diagolon-offshoot Second Sons on July 14 and 18.
The RCMP has labelled Diagolon an "extremist, militia-like organization."
In one video Greco shared to Threads on May 26, MacKenzie says immigrants are deliberately coming to North America en masse in an effort to destabilize the Western world.
In June 2020, Greco posted on X saying "Hitler was democratically elected and once in power used his brown shirts and eventually his SS to eliminate all and any political opposition!! Police and military leaders need to wake up and honour the oaths they took to protect Canada and its citizens."
In December 2020, Greco posted on X saying, "The only way Canada will survive our compromised politicians is a coup by Canadian military and police."
Expert says police and military vulnerable to extremist influence
CBC shared a handful of Greco's social media posts with Kawser Ahmed, a professor in the University of Winnipeg politics department.
Ahmed led a public safety project called Extremism and Radicalization to Violence Prevention in Manitoba.
He said he was "not surprised" to see a police officer posting extremist content.
Referring to a recent case in which the RCMP arrested and charged two active military members in an alleged plot to form an anti-government militia, Ahmed said members of police and military are vulnerable to influence and recruitment by extremist groups.
He said members of the forces are appealing recruits for these groups because they're highly trained, know how to fight and have a mindset of defending the country which extremist groups can "tweak."
They're also vulnerable in the way anyone is, he said, noting economic downturns and polarizing world events such as the pandemic and wars in Ukraine and Gaza have "primed" people to turn against institutions.
Ahmed said he was "happy" to hear Hamilton police are investigating Greco's posts.
In his experience, Ahmed said, it's "super difficult" to counter radicalization in law enforcement because "nobody wants to listen to it."
The forces are very insular, he said, and "we have to convince them that there's a problem."
It's unlikely none of Greco's colleagues knew what he was posting, Ahmed added.
Constable's posts 'deeply troubling': anti-racism advocate
Lyndon George agrees there's a problem and says it's very serious.
"You can't be a cop by day and a racist by night," the director of the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre said. "That doesn't work in the diverse communities that we have. It's not one or the other. You can't be both in this instance and think that you can carry on in your work."
George described Greco's posts calling for a coup as "unbelievable" and said his reposts of extremist content and posts referencing the racist great replacement theory are "not to be taken lightly."
"This tells you that there is an individual here who doesn't see himself reflected in the community as a whole and that's deeply troubling," George said. "Community [members] would be concerned if this person showed up at their door with these retweets if you knew that … especially as the men and women of the service carry weapons."
He added that hate crimes in Hamilton have sharply risen, and having an officer who shares racist sentiments online might make one wonder if reports of hate are taken seriously.
There should be an independent, third-party investigation into Greco, George said, examining not just his social media but who, if anyone, he may have been in contact with in extremist spaces.
A "transparent and open" investigation is necessary for community members to look at the Hamilton Police Service with the "respect that it deserves," George said. "If not, there will be a cloud of suspicion across all officers who wear that uniform."