Toronto police say two nooses recently found at a Michael Garron Hospital construction site aren’t being treated as a hate crime.
“The hate crime unit has been consulted on the incident and at this time, it is not being treated as hate-motivated,” officers said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
The statement went on say the nooses, which were found on Sept. 24, aren’t “believed to be connected to any previous incidents.”
When asked for more information and how the determinations were made, a spokesperson said investigators were unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.
READ MORE: 2 more nooses found at Toronto hospital construction site
The day after the nooses were found, officials with the hospital and EllisDon (the company in charge of construction) decried the incident.
“These despicable acts of racism are not reflective of our hospital community. While we will not let incidents of hate define us, we will call out these insidious acts whenever they take place,” Sarah Downey, president and CEO of Michael Garron Hospital, said in a statement on Friday.
“This pattern indicates a systemic problem. Although we have been reassured by the efforts made by EllisDon and others to address racism in the construction industry, it is clear that they need to do better.”
It was on June 10 when crews located nooses at the construction site, which is operated by EllisDon. The nooses were reported to have been found where two Black workers were stationed. There have been at least three other construction sites in Toronto in recent months where nooses have been found.
1001 14:35 Suspicious Incident, Sammon Avenue And Coxwell Avenue Area https://t.co/giYyrOuPXU
— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) October 1, 2020