Cop Watch: OPP Cst. Marc Gravelle
- John Hawke
- Sep 14
- 5 min read
By Johnny Hawke
June 13, 2025 I attended Midland Buttertart Festival and set up a banner at Neezhoday Park and draped the sign over the park sign. This park is dedicated and named after an Anishinabek Elder Andrew “Neezhoday” Miximong from my community who was murdered by two white men of Midland. At this event there were hundreds of other banners from private citizens placed over street, parking and town signs. My Banner was calling out MPP Jill Dunlops vote in legislature to accept Bill 5 an act that infringes on Indigenous Rights.
Town of Midland, Mayor Bill Gordon confronted me and informed me he had no issue with my banner on the park sign.
I was asked to remove my banner from a subordinate Town Employee. I refused and informed them the Mayor had no issue and permitted me to stay and have my banner up so long as I was peaceful. The constables on the ground did not know how to respond to this matter and asked their Superior at the Midland Detachment. That Officer in charge of Midland OPP Detachment contacted the Central Regional Ontario Superior on what they should do.
The OPP on-call Staff Sgt for Central Ontario Region was Marc Gravelle. Marc Gravelle was that final decision maker for OPP who gave orders to constables on the ground to remove my banner. OPP Sgt. Marc Gravelle has a documented history of discrimination in his role as an OPP officer which is as follows:
An Ontario Provincial Police Discipline Hearing in the Matter of the Ontario Regulation 268/10 made under the Police Services Act and amendments thereto; and in the Matter of the Ontario Provincial Police and Sergeant M.H (Marc) Gravelle, #12091 was charged of Discreditable Conduct involving a matter that involved a Public Complainant by Ms. Kareen Wong.
On May 17, 2021 Sgt Gravelle, represented by his counsel Mr. MacKenzie, pleaded guilty and was found guilty of discreditable conduct, based on clear and convincing evidence outlined in the Notice of Hearing.
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In 2013 A former Peterborough County OPP probationary officer Michael Jack filed a human rights complaint against the OPP, alleging that his former fellow officers treated him as a second-class citizen because of his race. Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario File: 2010-07633- filed by Michael Jack names OPP Cst. Marc Gravelle in engaging in discrimination:
“I firmly believe that Cst. Marc Gravelle lied to me in the face. I believe it was him who intentionally and maliciously reported me as a gun-happy person after I had shown him inside of my house and how safely and securely I stored my registered firearms. However, in the scope of the final picture (so to speak) it is immaterial who did that. What is material were the negative connotations attached to one possessing a large gun collection. The OPP were fully aware of my background with the Israeli Navy, my membership in the local gun club (Exhibit 68) and my qualifications in firearms. Hence, it would appear that it was the association of a Russian (me) and my large gun collection that labeled me as a Crazy Russian (Ivan) that in turn ignited a flame– a flame of racial hatred and contempt towards me. The Sergeant’s lack of professional fortitude and objectivity caused this flame to spread all the way to upper the upper management of the OPP that ultimately led to my demise.“
This material demonstrates the behaviour OPP Central Region on-call Staff Sergeant Marc Gravelle is capable while in uniform of such discriminative behaviour. This evidence shows he has a history of complaints made by the public of him engaging in discrimination, using his privilege as an officer to influence the outcome in situations to benefit his own bias and misdirecting investigations such as where he pled guilty to discreditable conduct.
In this matter the OPP constables on the ground did not know how to handle the situation despite being told by the Head of the Corporation of the Town of Midland that I had permission to have my banner on the Towns Park sign.
The fact that an OPP Central Region on-call “Commander” had to give direction to constables on the ground demonstrate this was a unique and sensitive matter that could have been mediated through alternative mechanisms available to the OPP in which they provide and are equipped for. Staff Sergeant Marc opted to act on his own bias and despite mechanisms in place.
The OPP have an Indigenous Policing Bureau (IPB) which centralizes strategic expertise and provides dedicated support and resources to ensure that the OPP develops and maintains the ability to appropriately respond to issues impacting Indigenous Peoples. The IPB provides support and capacity building to contribute to effective First Nations policing and the safety of Indigenous communities. The Bureau’s core functions are to provide:
• improved capacity for relationships that can identify, mediate and assist in resolving potential conflict situations;
effective Indigenous awareness training for OPP employees, police partners and community partners;
The OPP’s IPB Central Region Coordinator is Sergeant Erin McMillian – 416-458-4822. The OPP also have a Provincial Liaison Team (PLT) that establishes and maintains open and transparent lines of communication with all parties who may be affected, directly or indirectly, by major events or critical incidents. The PLT includes specially trained officers focused on proactive relationship building as a means to assist in resolving issues and securing lawful, peaceful and safe environments, during police responses to issue-based conflict, such as demonstrations.
The Ipperwash Inquiry investigated the 1995 killing of unarmed Indigenous activist Dudley George by OPP. The Final Report released in 2007 where Justice Sidney B. Linton found that racism against Indigenous peoples was “not restricted to a few ‘bad apples’ within the OPP but was more widespread.” The inquiry "found that the OPP, the provincial government and the federal government all bore responsibility for the events that led to George's death. The report included 100 recommended changes to policing, negotiation processes, and Indigenous land rights. These recommendations have largely been ignored.
I filed a Human Rights complaint on The Corporation of the Town of Midland and OPP for violation of my rights and freedoms of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression where I was discriminated on the grounds of my race and nationality in regards to having my sign removed where other members of the public were permitted to engage in the same actions I was denied.
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