RACIAL PROFILING, RACISM AND WRONGFUL DETAINMENT NETS THE WINNIPEG CITY POLICE SERVICE A COMPLAINT TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT REVIEW AGENCY
WINNIPEG, MB, March 10, 2022 /CNW/ - On March 3, 2022, a victim of racial profiling prompted a young Indigenous man from Peguis First Nation to file a report to the Law Enforcement Review Agency on allegations of misconduct and racism by the Winnipeg Police Service. Since the release of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in 1991, a majority of the Winnipeg Police Service continue to exhibit racist conduct which has made two First Nation organizations demand reconciliation and cultural training.
Brenda Sanderson of the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM) stated, "On February 3, 2022, at approximately 5:36 pm, the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) responded to a call regarding a disturbance at a Winnipeg hotel. Junior Cochrane who is employed by First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba as an ambassador was patrolling outside the hotel, was questioned as to how much he had been drinking and why he was off the reservation. Despite the Ambassador insisting he was working; he was double handcuffed and put in the back of a police car."
"We reached out to the Winnipeg Police Service to sit in a sharing circle with our Turtle Team. The police department responded by stating their legal and union advisers advised against this remedial process as instructed by those officers involved," said Ardell Cochrane, Executive Director of FNHSSM.
"The purpose of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry was to examine the relationship between Aboriginal peoples of Manitoba and the justice system. Not much has changed since its final report in 1991. I am also the Co-Chair of the Summit of Treaty Five Sovereign Nations which has a 12-Point Plan to combat racism and I'm happy to say 40 of our nations support anti-racism and combatting racism head on," said Chief Sheldon Kent of Black River First Nation and Chair of FNHSSM.
Junior Cochrane stated, "I filed the LERA complaint thinking I must do my part to expose the racism that is so prevalent in the City of Winnipeg. The fact that I was disrespected as a civilian and made to feel ugly about my nationality by the very people who are to serve and protect meets the criteria for filing LERA. My request for mediation through cultural sharing was denied by the police department which is disappointing."
SOURCE First Nations Health and Social Secretariat
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