Alberta’s police watchdog has concluded its investigation into the forcible arrest of an Indigenous chief that left him bloody and bruised outside a Fort McMurray casino in March, 2020, finding that there was no wrongdoing on the RCMP’s part, and nothing to suggest there was a racist element to what occurred.
“After a thorough, independent and objective investigation into the conduct of the Subject Officers, it is my opinion that they were lawfully placed and acting properly in the execution of their duties,” wrote Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) executive director Michael Ewenson in his report released Thursday.
“There is no evidence to support any belief that they engaged in any unlawful or unreasonable conduct that would give rise to a criminal offence,” he said.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said he could not comment on ASIRT’s findings because of “an agreement between myself and the RCMP.” Corporal Troy Savinkoff, an RCMP spokesman, confirmed that there was a resolved civil lawsuit between Mr. Adam and the RCMP, but said he could not provide any details.
Edmonton defence lawyer Brian Beresh, who defended Mr. Adam on charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, said he was disappointed with ASIRT’s findings. He said ASIRT’s conclusion that the RCMP acted appropriately is “fully inconsistent” with the fact that the charges against Mr. Adam were quickly dropped.
“I’m disappointed with what appears to be a very superficial analysis of a case where there is hard evidence, in videos, of excessive police force, and I’m disappointed with how the issue of race was dealt with,” Mr. Beresh said. “It appears as though the authors asked the police whether they were racist, and they said no, and they accepted that.”
The ASIRT report says Mr. Adam and his wife “refused to co-operate with ASIRT’s investigation, as is their right.”
The protracted altercation began as Mr. Adam was leaving the Boomtown Casino with his wife early on the morning of March 10, 2020, and an officer noticed the vehicle’s registration was expired.
Mr. Adam spoke publicly about the incident in June, 2020, saying he was beaten by police and his wife, Freda Courtoreille, roughed up in an act of racist police violence.
“We need an overhaul of our justice system in regard to how it treats minority people. There is systematic racism,” he told The Globe and Mail then. “Is it normal for any officer who carries a badge and a sidearm … to shoot or beat someone of a different minority and say: ‘We’ll deal with them this way. He’s just a native person, who is worthless. A drunk.’ ”
RCMP initially defended the officers’ actions, saying Mr. Adam had been resisting arrest, and members “were required to use force” to take him into custody. But a grisly photo of his bloodied face, and videos of the incident released by both Mr. Adam and the RCMP, led to widespread questioning and condemnation of police response by both Indigenous leaders and politicians.
“We are deeply disturbed by the graphic photo and videos of the use of force,” then-public safety minister Bill Blair said at the time. “People across the country have serious questions about this incident, and they deserve fulsome answers.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said then that the video was “shocking” and called for an independent investigation. “I think everyone who has seen this video has serious questions about what exactly happened, about how it happened this way and about the use of force that we saw.”
The incident occurred at a time of intense scrutiny around systemic racism in policing, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in the United States.
The first officer is described in the ASIRT report as being “east-Indian,” with about four months of policing experience with the RCMP.
“Last time I checked, I’m an Indian. My colour of my skin is brown, like race did not play a part of me conducting that traffic stop … ,” the officer is quoted as saying. “I don’t pull people over or whatever just because I don’t like the colour of their skin. No.”
The second officer said he made a quick decision to use force based on what he saw as a suspect “displaying assaultive behaviour” and actively resisting arrest.
“I did not know that the male was aboriginal before and during the intervention. In the time I had to make a decision, the ethnicity, language, social economic background or religion of the person was not considered or even digested,” that officer wrote. “Regardless, it would never influence a decision.”
The report said that video taken in the police car after Mr. Adam’s arrest recorded him making death threats and racist comments toward both officers, including telling the first officer to go back to his own country, and blaming him for COVID.
The ASIRT report notes that Mr. Adam “is indigenous and a recognized leader in his community” who “believed he was treated differently by the officers due to his race.”
“He is obviously entitled to his personal beliefs, however there is nothing in the available evidence that documents any overt language or conduct by the subject officers that would suggest racist treatment,” the report reads.