Black Lives Matter's move to halt Toronto's Pride parade Sunday while the group protested police involvement in events may have been controversial, but change is uncomfortable, a group spokesperson said.

Black Lives Matter staged a sit-in midway through the massive parade and made a series of demands that were eventually agreed to by Pride Toronto's leaders, who were caught offguard by the protest. The demands included removing Toronto police floats and booths in Pride marches, parades and community events.

The parade — which included Justin Trudeau as the first sitting prime minister to join the march — resumed after about a half-hour delay. 

Janaya Khan, a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter, told CBC Radio's Metro Morning that allowing the police to march in the parade made some communities feel unsafe, and contributed to the event's "anti-blackness."

The group issued a clear statement after its demands were met: "We shut it down. We won."

"We didn't halt the parade, we made progress in the parade," Khan said. 

Alica Hall, co-chair of Pride Toronto, said her organization will meet with Toronto police to discuss the force's participation in any future festivities. The police chief frequently marches in the parade along with dozens of officers, including some who are part of the LBGT community. 

Protest not surprising, Pride Toronto says

Hall said she was disappointed that Black Lives Matter didn't notify organizers about the demonstration. 

In February, Pride Toronto invited Black Lives Matter to help lead the parade, praising the group for its fierce protests about how police in the city treat black people — specifically, the practice of carding and the shooting death of Andrew Loku. The Toronto father of five was killed by police on July 5, 2015 near Eglinton Avenue West and Caledonia Road. Black Lives Matter has been highly critical of the Special Investigation Unit and the fact only parts of the SIU's report into Loku's death were released. 

Speaking about the Pride parade Sunday, Hall said, "I can't say I was shocked" about what happened. 

Hall said she doesn't feel Pride Toronto lost by siding with Black Lives Matter. Instead, she called it "a moment of progress."

Mathieu Chantelois, Pride Toronto's executive director, used a black feather pen to sign the group's list of demands, which also included a commitment to increase representation among Pride Toronto staff and to better support black events during Pride. 

Gay police officer criticizes move

Pride's decision to meet the demands has already been met with criticism.

Chuck Krangle, a Toronto police constable who is gay, wrote an open letter to the organization that concludes: "Exclusion does not promote inclusion."

Krangle said seeing hundreds of police officers walking in the Pride parade was an eye-opening experience.

"I realized that my employer fully supports this part of me, and so many others like me," Krangle writes in the letter, which you can read here.

Weeks before the parade, police Chief Mark Saunders apologized for the 1981 bathhouse raids, when officers armed with crowbars and sledgehammers arrested some 300 men.

More than 90 per cent of the charges were eventually dropped, and the raids galvanized Toronto's LGBT community to fight for their rights and find a political voice. 

On Monday, Saunders said he's waiting for Pride Toronto organizers to contact him about what will happen next. 

With files from Metro Morning