A community activist and one time mayoral candidate says that she was physically and sexually assaulted by a Toronto police officer while attempting to access a police services board meeting last month.

At a news conference on Wednesday morning, D!ONNE Renée alleged that an officer assaulted her after she made requests to use an elevator to access the TPS board meeting on Sept. 21.

Renée said that she has physical difficulty using stairs, which prompted her to request access to the elevator.

“I was shocked, I was traumatized, I was injured. I couldn’t believe what just occurred to me, it made no sense whatsoever,” Renée told reporters.

The Special Investigations Unit has confirmed that they are looking into the allegations made by Renée but they have not provided any further details about the case.

The SIU further stated that they did not initially announce that they had launched an investigation because it is their policy “not to release information in cases involving allegations of sexual assault to protect the identities and privacy of the complainant.”

The SIU, in fact, only confirmed that they were investigating after Renée went public with her allegations on Wednesday morning.

Speaking with reporters, Renée said that she did “nothing” to precipitate the alleged assault.

She said that that she told the officer to remove his hand from her person to no effect and was traumatized by the incident.

“As a woman telling him to remove his hand and him not caring about my person, my dignity, my humanity or even my wellness,” she said.

CP24’s cameras captured the immediate aftermath of the alleged assault on Sept. 21, though not the incident itself.

The footage shows Renée seated on the floor of police headquarters on College Street. She is then seen getting up and yelling at a group of officers who are surrounding her.

At one point she can be heard saying “You can’t just put your hands on people because you think you can. You cannot.” to an officer standing nearby.

In a press release issued on Wednesday morning, a group who describes themselves as “community members who support D!ONNE” said they are “fighting back.”

The group said that the TPS must immediately suspend the accused officer and turn over all video footage leading up to and of the alleged assault.

The group also called on the SIU to provide immediate public notice and documentation of all investigations into allegations of sexual assault against police officers.

Cole calls for TPS board meetings to be moved

Speaking with CP24 following the news conference, activist Desmond Cole said that the alleged assault is just another example of a “system that is not working.”

Cole then “demanded” that TPS board meetings be moved to another public forum following the introduction of increased security measures at police headquarters, including metal detectors and bag searches.

“Police headquarters has not and never has been the appropriate place to have meetings about keeping police accountable,” he said.

Mayor John Tory was asked about the alleged assault of Renée during a break in a council meeting on Wednesday and said that the “bottom line” is that it is “being investigated by an independent authority that will have access to all the evidence they need.”

Tory also said that he would be open to moving TPS board meetings elsewhere but said that “reasonable” security measures should still be in place, wherever the meetings take place.

“The police services board before today’s press conference was looking at having meetings around the city but I would say to you that reasonable security precautions would have to be taken wherever those meetings are held as well. We are dealing with the senior command of the police service here,” he said.

According to TPS spokesperson Mark Pugash, the accused officer remains on active duty and no charges have been laid.