Family calls for justice on second anniversary of Indigenous man's killing by Mounties

The sounds of taiko drummers dominated Vancouver’s Grandview Park on Saturday, as loved ones gathered for a vigil on the two year anniversary of the death of Jared Lowndes.

But the sombre affair was also a protest and fundraiser. His family has filed a civil claim, naming the Ministry of Public Safety and the RCMP.

“Every night when I go to sleep I think about my son,” his mother Laura Holland told the crowd. “Every morning when I wake up I think about my son, during the day I talk to him.”

Jared Lowndes was shot and killed by Mounties on July 8, 2021 in Campbell River.

The lawsuit alleges officers were negligent when they boxed in his vehicle and let a police dog loose, which jumped into his car.

The 38-year-old was wanted on an outstanding warrant, and police said after he stabbed and killed the dog, shots were fired.

“The humiliation of what they did to my son is just unbearable,” Holland said Saturday. “Some days it’s too much, when I just didn’t feel like I could hang on any longer, I didn’t want to take another breath.”

She believes the lawsuit, which was filed Friday, will cost her more money than she’ll ever be awarded.

“What I want from the civil suit is to blow things open. I want people to understand what we as Indigenous people face,” she said.