Toronto police chief rubbishes Meghan Markle’s Netflix claims that force ignored her pleas for help
Toronto’s chief of police has rejected the Duchess of Sussex’s claims that his officers left her unprotected when she started dating Prince Harry.
James Ramer was responding to Meghan’s claims in the couple’s Netflix docuseries that she was being stalked by photographers in Canada 24 hours a day.
He said: ‘There are always people who are never going to be happy.’
The duchess, who was working in the city as an actress on the legal drama Suits, also suggested that neighbours were being paid to install security cameras looking into her property.
But Mr Ramer, an officer with 42 years of experience, suggested the claims on Netflix were inaccurate.
He told the Toronto Sun newspaper: ‘I was deputy chief at the time, in charge of the special enforcement command that oversaw that situation, and can tell you the officers did an excellent job.
‘Our officers were extremely professional. I oversaw the area that protected VIPs and I fully support the work they did there.’
In the series Harry & Meghan, broadcast on the streaming giant in a multi-million dollar production deal, the duchess spoke at length about the pressure she felt after news broke in October 2016 that the couple were an item.
She alleges that the Toronto Police Service failed to take seriously her complaints that she was being ‘stalked’ by freelance photographers.
She said: ‘I would say to the police, “If any other woman in Toronto said to you, I have six grown men who are sleeping in their cars around my house and following me everywhere that I go, and I feel scared, wouldn’t you say that was stalking?”
They said “Yes, but there’s really nothing we can do because of who you’re dating”.’
Meghan claims she asked police whether she was ‘just supposed to live like this?’ and they replied ‘Yeah.’
The duchess says some neighbours in her modest suburban street were paid to install a ‘livestream camera to watch her movements’.
She says it was ‘scary’ because ‘my face was everywhere, my life was everywhere’.
However Mr Ramer told the Toronto Sun this was not what transpired.
The Police chief said he knew numerous detectives and officers who took the actor’s complaints seriously and addressed her concerns.
Chief Ramer, who has not watched the Netflix series, said the focus of his colleagues was ‘always on trying to do their best to keep people safe’ and they did just that with Meghan.
‘We do not comment on investigations specifically (but) what I will say is I have confidence in the work our members did,’ he said.
The columnist who published the comments, Joe Warmington, was covering the crime beat at the time. He said: ‘I can say with confidence the assertions that Toronto Police let the royal couple down are ludicrous.
‘What she doesn’t mention is Toronto Police did respond to the street, routinely monitored it, deployed undercover vehicles and teams, and spoke to the paparazzi.
‘There are even pictures taken by retired Toronto Sun photographer Mike Peake of police being on her street.
‘I also recall extra security with both her and Prince Harry when they were at Invictus Games events.
‘Markle should add Toronto Police to the already long list of people who are owed an apology for comments made in the docuseries.’
While there is little doubt that the duchess was subject to greatly increased media attention while she was living in Canada, royal aides made concerted attempts at the time to help her deal with the new levels of interest in her, including penning a public plea from Prince Harry to respect her privacy.
Sources said they had no recollection of reports suggesting that security cameras were installed in order to spy on her.
