The picture below shows the extensive injuries suffered by Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation when stopped by the RCMP for an expired licence plate illustrates the deep racism that still exists in Canadian police forces. The RCMP says the police actions was justified because he resisted arrest. The same story the police always give to justify the unjustifiable.
The video of the police assault on Chief Adam can be seen at https://edmonton.citynews.ca/video/2020/06/07/police-watchdog-investigat...
Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation says he was beaten up and his wife man-handled by RCMP officers after they left a casino in Fort McMurray. / supplied
Chief Allan Adam is demanding the RCMP release the footage of his March 10 arrest that was recorded by a police dashcam, after the arrest left his face cut and bruised. He is also calling for the arresting officer’s suspension and an investigation.
“Every time our people do wrong, the RCMP… always seem to use excessive force,” he said during a Saturday morning press conference. “That has to stop. Enough is enough.”
Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and his lawyer, Brian Beresh, showed two videos of the incident, which took place outside the Boomtown Casino at roughly 2 a.m. March 10. The videos were filmed by bystanders. The chief says the incident began when police noticed his truck had an expired licence plate. Adam was outside his vehicle, moving a baby seat into the back to make room for a friend when an officer told him this.
Adam got back into the truck to tell his wife, Freda Courtoreille, they couldn’t leave. A police statement says the vehicle was unoccupied and idling, but Adam says his wife was in the driver’s seat. In the meantime, more officers arrived at the scene. Adam alleges an officer opened the driver’s side door where Courtoreille was sitting, pulled her out of the seat and pushed her against the vehicle.
In the first video, which runs less than a minute, at least three officers can be seen outside the truck. An officer opens the door and pulls Courtoreille out. She can be heard saying “I didn’t do anything to you guys.” The bystander filming the incident can be heard yelling “take it easy on the lady, guys.”
Adam said he got out of his vehicle to tell the police to let his wife go. An altercation occurred, which ended with another officer tackling Adam. “I dropped to my knees, and slowly I could feel I was going unconscious and all I could remember … blood was gushing out of my mouth,” Adam said.
In the second video, which is roughly three minutes, an officer has Adam pinned to the ground. Other officers are surrounding the scene. Adam says to the police his face is bleeding. An officer can be heard yelling “stop resisting,” and Adam yells back with “I’m not resisting.” An officer can also be heard saying “this guy came out of the car, ready to go.”
“At no point does Allan resist arrest,” said Beresh on Saturday. “He questions, as all of us can, what is the basis for this?” Beresh is asking for an investigation by an independent police force outside the RCMP.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which investigates deaths or injuries involving police, said that it will investigate the incident.
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/athabasca-chipewyan-chief-re...