Exploring Theme: "Systemic Racism in Policing"

Crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous men, boys and Two Spirit death grows in Canada. Warning: This story contains content about missing and murdered Indigenous men, boys and 2S (MMIMB2S) and may be distressing – the Hope for Wellness hotline is available 24/7 at 1-855-242-3310. APTN News: Across the sprawling landscapes of North America, a...

A sign outside the courthouse in Winnipeg Monday encouraging authorities to search the Prairie Green Landfill. Photo: Jesse Andrushko/APTN.  APTN News: Canada’s minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations says the decision by the Winnipeg Police Service not to search a local landfill for the remains of two First Nations women is “problematic.” Gary Anandasangaree was asked about...

Click on the following link to view the video: https://bc.ctvnews.ca/video-shows-vpd-officers-laughing-after-woman-is-shot-with-beanbag-1.6908693 Warning: This story includes details that readers may find disturbing. The Tyee: CTV News: A retired judge is assessing whether any alleged police misconduct occurred following an incident involving the Vancouver Police Department and an Indigenous woman who lives in the Downtown Eastside. On April...

Police say it could affect their ongoing file on the Cree woman’s disappearance. But her family wants answers. The Tyee: Vancouver police are refusing to release an external RCMP review that examined how the force investigated the disappearance and death of Chelsea Poorman, saying that making the report public could compromise their ongoing investigation. Police...

Change follows Police Act complaint after wrongful handcuffing of retired judge Selwyn Romilly in 2021 CBC News: The Vancouver Police Department announced that it has officially updated its handcuffing policy, requiring officers to take into account a person’s age, ethnicity, and the seriousness of an alleged incident prior to applying handcuffs.  The announcement follows interim changes to...

The families of Chelsea Poorman, Noelle O’Soup and Tatyanna Harrison rallied at a Vancouver police station to call for change. The Tyee: The families of Noelle O’Soup, Tatyanna Harrison and Chelsea Poorman called out the Vancouver Police Department for its handling of the cases at a rally on Monday, saying they no longer trust police...

Agreement includes damages, a significant community investment, and a two-year collaborative policy-making process to fight systemic racism, with progress to be reviewed and reported on publicly by the BC Human Rights Commissioner. NationTalk: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Sept 28, 2022) – Heiltsuk First Nation members Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter, have reached a ground-breaking agreement with the...

Heiltsuk Nation: Vancouver – Retired judge Brian Neal, Q.C., has decided VPD officers committed professional misconduct by recklessly arresting and handcuffing Maxwell Johnson and his 12-year-old granddaughter on December 20, 2019, while the two were trying to open a bank account for her at the Bank of Montreal. He found that the granddaughter and grandfather presented...

Heiltsuk Nation – The Heiltsuk Nation and Maxwell Johnson are disappointed by the secret and exclusionary process that the Vancouver Police Board and VPD have carried out to consider a new handcuffing policy. This type of colonial top-down decision making does not support reconciliation. “Neither the nation nor the complainants were: advised that the board...

Union of BC Indian Chiefs – The BC Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) decision to allow the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and their counsel, Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, to intervene in an ongoing BC human rights complaint against the VPD for the racial profiling and wrongful detainment of Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter outside...

Union of BC Indian Chiefs – and Heiltsuk Nation announced today that Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, former judge and Senior Associate Counsel with Woodward & Company, will be applying to intervene on behalf of UBCIC in an ongoing BC human rights case against the VPD for the wrongful detainment of Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter,...

NationTalk – A coalition of Indigenous, women, Downtown Eastside, and legal organizations are voicing their opposition to the Vancouver Police Department’s Trespass Prevention Program, which authorizes police officers to remove people without a call for 911 service if they have allegedly violated the provincial Trespass Act. States Chief Don Tom, Vice President of the Union...

Former BC Information and Privacy Commissioner will conduct a review of the Vancouver Police Board-commissioned street check” study that kept allegations from being publicized of officers making racist and inappropriate comments about vulnerable and marginalized people...

BCCLA, UBCIC, Black Lives Matter – Vancouver, Hogan’s Alley Society and Wish Drop-in Centre Society – have written a letter and petition to the Mayor Kennedy Stewart and premier John Horgan, co-signed by 87 other organizations and another 8,265 individuals calling for an immediate ban on police street checks: https://act.bccla.org/banstreetchecks On July 30, 2020, Commissioner...

BCCLA and UBCIC have released a letter to the Vancouver Police Board calling into question the objectivity, methodology, and findings of the Pyxis-authored Vancouver Police Board Street Check Review, and requesting the disclosure of any and all draft reviews, field notes, or ancillary materials from Pyxis. They identified a discrepancy between the final report as...

June 10, 2020: The BC Civil Liberties Association, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, and Hogan’s Alley Society – are calling on Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, who is also the Vancouver Police Board Chair and Board Spokesperson, to immediately put a stop to police street checks in Vancouver. A recent review of VPD street checks provided clear...