Eeyou Eenou Police Force Strike and Kill Man with Patrol Car (April 19, 2024)

Eeyou Eenou Police Force (EEPF, Cree Nation) struck and killed a pedestrian with a patrol car in Mistissini, in Northern Quebec, on April 19, 2024. Quebec’s Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI) is investigating. They report that a police officer from the Eeyou Eenou Police Force was traveling in his patrol car, followed by two police officers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) in their patrol vehicle. The three officers were reportedly responding to a call regarding a person traveling by foot on the highway. The pedestrian was then hit by the EEPF police officer’s patrol car. The victim suffered serious injuries and was transported to a clinic where he was later pronounced dead.

Five BEI investigators have been tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. The BEI is not an independent investigations unit and relies on other police forces for their investigations. In this case, the Service de police de la Ville du Québec (Quebec City police) will be involved in the investigation.

Edmonton Police Shoot and Kill Calvin (Kat) Arcand, An Alexander First Nation Cree Man (Dec. 3, 2023)

Edmonton police shot and killed Calvin (Kat) Arcand, a Cree man from Alexander First Nation, on the evening of December 3, 2023, in downtown Edmonton. APTN News has confirmed that Mr. Arcand is a member of Alexander First Nation, about 60 kilometers northeast of Edmonton.

It is reported that the killing occurred after Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers were dispatched to the area of 99th Avenue and 111th Street around 8:30 PM in response to a report that a man with a knife was approaching people in the area. Police claim there was some sort of undisclosed confrontation with the man in the area of 100th Avenue and 111th Street and an officer shot the man, killing him.

Videos show police taser the man, who appears to fall to the ground. Police then fire six shots in rapid succession. Questions have been raised about why police ignored protocol and got so close to someone who allegedly held a knife. Questions have also been asked about why police acted as they did after the taser appeared to work in dropping the victim.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating. Police have declined to provide any additional details on the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation. ASIRT has not yet spoken on the case.

Saskatchewan RCMP Shoot and Kill Man at Cumberland House Cree Nation (June 2, 2022)

A 22-year-old Prince Albert man was shot and killed by Saskatchewan RCMP at Cumberland House Cree Nation on June 2, 2022.

RCMP claim that a warrant had been issued for a man for allegedly assaulting a police officer. They attempted to execute the warrant at a home on Cumberland House Cree Nation when they claim they saw a person carrying a long gun.

Additional officers were called to the scene, including a SWAT team. The house was surroundedby police and three people surrendered.

RCMP claim that an exchage of gunfire followed with people still in the house. Police later entered and found a man inside who had been injured. He was transported to hospital by ambulance and died there. Reports also say another person was injured.

The community was under lock down conditions for several hours and the police issued a civil emergency alert. A local school was put in hold and secure.

There is no independent oversight body in Saskatchewan so police will be investigating police in this case. The Saskatchewan RCMP have asked the Moose Jaw Police Service to conduct the investigation into the killing.

The Ministry of Justice will appoint an investigation observer in accordance with the provincial Police Act.

Saskatchewan RCMP Kill Trent Byron Angus (33) of Onion Lake Cree Nation (Feb. 26, 2022)

Trent Byron Angus, 33-year-old Onion Lake Cree Nation man was killed during a Saskatchewan RCMP drug raid in Waseca, a town close to the Alberta border, on February 26, 2022. Trent Angus was a father of four with a fifth child on the way.

Police were pursuing a search warrant late that evening related to an investigation by the Battlefords RCMP Gang Task Force at a commercial property. The Saskatchewan RCMP Critical Incident Response Team was called to assist with the search warrant, and police believed there to be four people inside the property.

After some type of “non-lethal methods” were deployed, two men and one woman left the building and were arrested. Police allege that the final man to exit the building was not following their commands and they again deployed “non-lethal methods” against him.

RCMP claim that the man “displayed a firearm.” They also claim that “gunfire was exchanged” and the man was killed.

There is no independent police oversight agency in Saskatchewan, so Saskatoon Police Service are investigating the killing. A request has been made to the Ministry of Justice to appoint an “independent investigation observer.”

Victim of Winnipeg Police Identified as Randy Cochrane of Fisher River Cree Nation (July 14, 2019)

The family of a man who died during an arrest by Winnipeg police has identified him as Randy Cochrane, a 30-year-old father of three. Family members are calling for answers into what happened during the arrest and why there appear to be discrepancies in what police reported and what doctors in the hospital emergency have said.

Randy Cochrane’s cousin Monica Murdock asks pointedly:

“My family’s devastated. We want to know what happened to him. Why did he die in cuffs? Why were they chasing him? Why are they saying he was bloody but the doctors we went and saw at the emergency room last night said that he had no injuries? (quoted in Grabish 2019)

Murdock reports that doctors at the Health Sciences Centre told her family on Sunday, after Cochrane died, that the young man had suffered a heart attack and had a high fever. She also reports that they told her there were no other injuries on his body. She says that doctors informed her that it was too late by the time Cochrane arrived at the hospital at 4:30 PM because he had been without a pulse for some time (Grabish 2019).

Murdock describes her cousin as “a fierce protector of his family” and she says “he was more like a brother to her” (2019). She relates fondly: “He always made sure we were protected. We were safe. The last time I saw him he came to my house and he gave me some money for my baby ‘cause my daughter’s in the hospital” (quoted in Grabish 2019).

Marjorie Cochrane raised Randy after adopting him. She remembers:

“He was really always close to his daughters. It’s hard. Taking it hard” (quoted in Grabish 2019).

She too has important questions for police: “What happened when they handcuffed him?” (quoted in Grabish 2019).

A witness, Will Couture, says Cochrane, rather than being a threat, appeared to be shouting for help while running from something or someone (2019). Couture reports that the man, kept repeating “help me, help me” (Grabish 2019). He then saw police chase Cochrane across the street.

Couture claims that the man looked “freaked out.” In his words: “Just scared. Just like terrified of something you know what I mean? It was like the devil was chasing him” (quoted in Grabish 2019).

If it was the police, he may be completely right in that.

 

Further Reading

Grabish, Austin. 2019. “Family Demands Answers after Father of 3 Dies in Police Custody.” CBC News July 15. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/police-custody-death-north-end-winnipeg-1.5212209

Pressing Questions as Inquest into Police-Involved Death of Indigenous Man Jordan Lafond is Postponed to June

There are many unanswered questions about the role Saskatoon police played in the death of 21-year-old Jordan Lafond of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. An inquest into the death that was scheduled to take begin March 5, 2018, and which family hoped would provide some answers, has now been postponed until June 25.

The questions surrounding Lafond’s death are more pressing given that police initially suggested the injuries that led to Lafond’s death were inflicted in a vehicular crash and did not report that an officer used his knee to subdue the young man when he was handcuffed.

It has been reported publicly that Jordan Lafond died after the stolen truck he was a passenger in crashed into a fence on the outskirts of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the early morning hours of October 23, 2016. Lafond was taken into custody and later died in hospital. Police have not been forthcoming on their role in Lafond’s death and what they did to him during the arrest.

A six-person jury, five women and one-man, was selected on Monday. Four of the jurors are Indigenous. Three were selected from a special jury pool of Indigenous people and one who self-identified. The request for Indigenous jurors can be made at inquests but not for criminal trials, an issue that has received great attention following the recent not guilty verdicts in the killings of Indigenous youth Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine. The inquest is strictly a fact finding exercise and cannot assign blame or lead to charges being laid.

Grace Lafond-Barr, Jordan’s grandmother expressed the family’s grief: “Emotions have been up and down. A lot of tears, a lot of anger, a lot of sadness. Because we don’t know what happened to Jordan” (quoted in Hamilton 2018). She noted that police were not honest in reporting their actions during Jordan Lafond’s arrest. In her words: “We didn’t hear the truth when we were told of Jordan’s injuries. It would be nice to know what happened to him” (quoted in Hamilton 2018).

Police changed their story about what happened a few weeks after Lafond died. They had initially claimed that Lafond was found underneath a tire of the truck that crashed and said at that time that he died of injuries resulting from that crash. Then-police Chief Clive Weighill alleged that officers believed Lafond was resisting arrest and acknowledged that an officer used his knee to subdue Lafond and that he was handcuffed. Police have not admitted what part that might have played in the death.

Police even had to downgrade the initial charge of dangerous driving causing death laid against the driver of the stolen truck. Said the Crown prosecutor at the time: “We weren’t in a position to prove that the accident—or the collision, in this case—caused the death” (quoted in Hamilton 2018).

Saskatoon Police Service released a statement on March 5 saying that  they had carried out an internal investigation into Lafond’s death but would not release any details or results. There is no police oversight body, independent or otherwise, in Saskatchewan. The officer responsible is still on regular duties.

Jordan Lafond was a new father and worked at a roofing company to support her. Said Lafond-Barr: “Yes maybe he was in a stolen vehicle. But that doesn’t mean you should end his life over it. That’s what I said. I would like to bring some humanity to this (quoted in Hamilton 2018).

Anyone following events in Saskatchewan will note that young Indigenous men have been killed in that province for as little as stepping foot on a farm claimed by a white settler, with the settler farmer getting off despite admitting to the killing. So being killed by police for being in a stolen vehicle would not be unlikely in that context. And the officer involved will likely not even be charged. Jordan Lafond was the same age as Colten Boushie.

 

Further Reading

Hamilton, Charles. 2018. “’Everyone is Disappointed’: Inquest into Death of Jordan Lafond Postponed Until June.” CBC News March 5. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/family-hoping-for-answers-as-inquest-in-jordan-lafond-s-death-begins-1.4559159

 

Family of Joey Knapaysweet, Cree Youth Killed by Timmins Police, Releases Statement, Calls for Answers

Police in the small northern Ontario city of Timmins, shot and killed 21-year-old Joey Knapaysweet on February 3, 2018. In a context, as is true across Canada, in which police control information about their killings, few details have been provided publicly. Joey Knapaysweet was from the James Bay community of Fort Albany — more than an hour’s flight from Timmins. According to the family statement, he had gone to Timmins to “seek help in dreams for betterment of his life.” On Thursday, February 15, the family released a statement from Fort Albany saying they need answers about why police chose to kill their loved one.

Micheline Knapaysweet expresses her pain:  “I cannot sleep at nights, I need answers. This is my son, my child.” She asks further “What did he do that was so bad that he had to be shot and killed? I am so heartbroken, with so many questions unanswered.”

The Special Investigations Unit, the agency that investigates cases of police harm to civilians in Ontario has only said: “There was an interaction between the man and officers, and one of the officers discharged a firearm. The man was struck. He was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.”

The police killing of Joey Knapaysweet occurred the same weekend as another Cree person from Fort Albany, 62-year-old Agnes Sutherland, died in custody of Timmins police. Their deaths through police interactions, happened as an all-white jury in Saskatchewan was about to acquit white farmer Gerald Stanley in the 2016 killing of a young Cree man, Colten Boushie. The Stanley trial and acquittal brought international attention to white supremacy, colonialism, and racism in Canada and Canadian criminal justice. The Stanley verdict sparked protests across the country against the mistreatment of Indigenous people throughout the justice system in Canada.

Might the deaths of Joey Knapaysweet and Agnes Sutherland spark further actions and calls for systemic transformation. In Timmins a vigil before the Stanley trial verdict brought out at least 100 people. Micheline Knapaysweet has made a dedication to wear a red scarf, Joey Knapaysweet’s favorite color, until the family receives need answers to their questions.

BEI Investigating In-Custody Death of Brandon Stephen in Cree Community of Waskaganish (Jan. 2, 2018)

The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), the unit that examines cases of police harm to civilians in Quebec is investigating the in-custody death of 24-year-old father of two Brandon Stephens in a jail cell in the Cree community of Waskaganish. The community is 1055 kilometers northwest of Montreal on the shores of James Bay.

A statement released by the Eeyou Eenou Police claims officers were called to a residence in the community at around 1 PM on Monday, January 1, 2018. They say they found a man identified as Brandon Stephen intoxicated and threatening to harm himself. Police report  he was then taken into custody.

According to police, at around 11 PM Stephen informed guards that he was not feeling well. At some point he was transferred to the medical clinic in the community where he died at around 3 AM on January 2.

This is the second police-involved death in an Indigenous community in northern Quebec, in a period of a week.

Person Killed by Alberta RCMP Identified as 26-Year-Old Cree Man, Cavin Poucette

Family members have identified 26-year-old Cavin Poucette as the person shot and killed by Alberta RCMP on the morning of October 19, 2017, in the town of Gleichen, victim of Thursday morning’s shooting in the town of Gleichen, east of Red Deer. Poucette has been identified by friends as a “proud Cree” originally from Morley on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation.

The incident that resulted in the killing started when two RCMP officers conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Haskayne Avenue and Gleichen Street, for reasons not yet disclosed publicly. It ended when an RCMP officer shot Mr. Poucette, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Relatives later recognized Poucette and his vehicle within the crime scene tape and publicly identified him as the victim.

Family members have some serious questions about the killing. Gildas Storm, Poucette’s uncle, said to CTV Calgary: “They should tell us what’s going on. All they say is they don’t know who that is and they don’t know who… That’s my nephew!” (quoted in White 2017).

He continued in frustration: “Cops stopped us here and they said that ASIRT was going to get ahold of us. They’re driving all over the damn reserve trying to find people. We’re right here. If ASIRT wants to find the family, we’re right here” (quoted in White 2017).

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating.

 

Further Reading

White, Ryan. 2017. “Friends and Family Mourn Man Fatally Shot by RCMP in Gleichen.” CTV News. October 21. http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/friends-and-family-mourn-man-fatally-shot-by-rcmp-in-gleichen-1.3643126