If you had no idea of the recent news, the two gatherings at Marie Curtis Park in Etobicoke would have just looked like a bunch of people out to enjoy the green space.

There were actually diametrically opposed groups brought to the park by their feelings about ‘Project Marie,’ a recent police operation held in the park where over a three-week period, plain clothes officers cited 78 people with 89 charges, the majority of which were bylaw infractions including 71 lewd behaviour tickets, as well as one criminal charge.

On Saturday, area residents and community police officers from 22 Division were engaging residents as part of its Walk the Beat initiative, in an effort to step up community enforcement and build a better relationship.

About 30 feet away, members of the LGBTQ community held a counter protest called Queers Crash the Beat, expressing their disgust with what they feel was a large scale police investigation with homophobic undertones that they feel targeted a marginalized community.

“It’s not just men engaging in sex in the park, there have been a couple of sex offenders, there is drinking and there have been drugs, so we’re dealing with all of those issues,” said Const. Kevin Ward, of 22 Division’s Community Response Unit. “Part of the issue is that the LGBTQ community feels that we have lumped everybody in the same category as the sex offender, which is not at all the case ... Our main reason for saying these things was to highlight some of the issues in the park, because it is a multi-faceted issue.”

Critics dislike the fact that the police did not consult with force’s LGBTQ liaison officer before the ‘Project Marie’ operation, or that a lighter touch, like posted signage might have been enough to deal with the issue. At issue is also how many resources were used in this investigation.

“The police are here basically celebrating a low point in LGBT police relations,” said Marcus McCann, a lawyer at Symes, Street and Millard, who has offered to help any of the charged individuals with free legal representation. “They did something that was a shameful overreaction and now they are throwing a party.”

“There is an underlying premise about whose park it is,” he continued. “It’s everybody’s park. I think people showing up today is a manifestation that the park is for everybody, including us.”

McCann wants people who have been charged to come seek help, but would like the Attorney General to withdraw all the tickets and expunge the records of the charged individuals, and get an apology from the police.

Police say the bulk of the charges were bylaw infractions, and in some circumstances, they chose those charges because they are less serious than potential criminal charges that could have been laid.

Area residents and the LGBTQ protestors came together to discuss these issues, but little headway was made.

“I get it, I can understand (their position),” said Dustin Titus, who lives in the area, and says he’s felt unsafe and been followed while walking his dog in the park. “To me, the police reaction looks like a slap on the wrist to people who have been offending in the park. The kind of acts that I’ve seen, I think those acts can happen indoors, and not in a public park.”

“These are bylaw infractions. These are fines,” he continued. “I think it just sends a message that we all need to and do a responsible job together to make sure our parks and communities are safe.”