The RCMP’s commanding officer in Alberta denies there is systemic racism in policing in Canada, amid allegations his members used excessive force against an Indigenous chief during an arrest.
For related developments, see: RCMP commissioner acknowledges ‘unconscious bias’ in the RCMP, vows to review use of controversial neck hold restraint
The RCMP’s commanding officer in Alberta denies there is systemic racism in policing in Canada, amid allegations his members used excessive force against an Indigenous chief during an arrest.
“I don’t believe that racism is systemic through Canadian policing. I don’t believe it’s systemic through policing in Alberta,” Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki told a news conference in Edmonton on Monday, when asked about unfolding protests in the United States over the death of George Floyd and debates over police violence around the world.
Zablocki’s comments came just a day after Alberta’s Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said it would investigate claims of racism and police brutality brought forward by Chief Allan Adam of the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta.
Over the weekend, Chief Adam alleged that he was beaten by RCMP officers and his wife was manhandled back in March when police stopped him for an expired licence plate in Fort McMurray. That arrest is now under review.
a promise that comes as mass protests against police brutality continue across North America in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Black Lives Matter activist and comedian Adora Nwofor said she disagrees with Zablocki.
Nwofor said she has personally experienced two traumatic incidents of racism by police in Alberta and has heard many accounts from Black, Indigenous and other people of colour about racism during contact with police.
“He’s wrong. That’s plain and simple. He’s wrong,” Nwofor told CBC News on Tuesd