The deaths and serious injuries of a number of people in RCMP custody are sparking concern in north central B.C. But B.C.’s police watchdog cautions against drawing conclusions about what happened before all the evidence is in.
A spate of police-involved deaths and serious injuries in north central B.C. is causing growing concern. At least three of the incidents involved Indigenous people.
Over a three-day period, between May 29 and 31, B.C.’s police watchdog announced three new probes into police incidents in small towns in north-central B.C.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is now looking into one police-involved death in Kitimat, as well as serious injuries to two people in Williams Lake and Prince Rupert after their contact with RCMP officers.
Last week, in a separate case, the IIO asked Crown counsel to consider whether five Mounties be criminally charged over an Indigenous man’s death in 2017. The man was in police custody in Prince George when he died.
And last month a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled that a Mountie “assaulted and battered” an Indigenous elder he suspected of shoplifting, after tackling her in a 2014 incident in Smithers.
“There’s a very cavalier and cowboy attitude of the RCMP, and quite frankly, they’ve been getting away with this for far too long,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. “We need to take a close look at what’s going on in the U.S. and be more vocal and take these matters to the streets.”
Protest over death of man suspected in break-in
On Monday, about two dozen people gathered outside the Burns Lake RCMP detachment to do just that. They were protesting the death of Everett Patrick in police custody in April.
Patrick, 42, a member of the Lake Babine Nation, was suspected of breaking into a downtown business in Prince George.
The RCMP say that after a lengthy standoff with a