Indigenous man, granddaughter who were wrongly handcuffed reach settlement in human rights complaint against BMO
A settlement has been reached in a human rights complaint brought by an innocent Indigenous man and his granddaughter after they were falsely accused of fraud, and then handcuffed outside a Vancouver bank branch in December 2019.
To mark the agreement ending the complaint process with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Maxwell Johnson and members of his Heiltsuk Nation drummed and sang traditional songs near the intersection of Dunsmuir Street and Burrard Street, outside the main branch of the Bank of Montreal in downtown Vancouver.
The healing ceremony took place at the exact spot where Vancouver police handcuffed Johnson and his granddaughter after bank staff called to report they suspected the pair were using fraudulent or altered First Nations Status Cards.
“That was really, really hard. Seeing your 12-year-old granddaughter getting handcuffed right in front of you, and seeing her crying, that broke my heart, you know?” Johnson said in an interview with CTV News on Thursday. “It really, really broke my heart.”
Johnson added that the experience is still affecting the now-14-year-old girl, who has anxiety whenever she sees police in uniform.
The pair was at the bank the day of the incident so Johnson could help his granddaughter open an account.
The settlement includes an undisclosed amount of financial compensation from BMO to Johnson and his granddaughter, as well as a private apology ceremony that will take place with bank representatives in the pair’s home community of Bella Bella.
BMO has also agreed to update its internal policies and procedures regarding the use of status cards as ID, create a company-wide education course so all staff and executives will learn about Indigenous culture, and establish an Indigenous advisory council.
Johnson, who is an artist, also created an original piece of artwork that will hang prominently in the lobby of the BMO branch where the incident took place.
“I had to do that for myself to let everybody know that I’m moving on from this,” he said. “And to show the world that we are working together to fix the wrongs that were done against us.”
According to the Heiltsuk Nation, the bank has also agreed to hang copies of the artwork in a number of other B.C. branches and to place plaques in those branches indicating which First Nation’s, or Nations’, traditional territories they are located in.
“Two-and-a-half years of negotiating was tough. It was hard on us all. I’m happy with where we’re at now,” Johnson said. “We’re just happy we’re getting some closure.”
BMO did not make anyone available for an interview to discuss the settlement.
"We are pleased that we have reached a settlement with Mr. Johnson and his granddaughter," an emailed statement from BMO said. "This was an important step for BMO toward reconciliation and we hope that the Johnsons reach the resolution and closure they deserve."
Johnson said he closed his BMO accounts Thursday as part of the process of moving on.
After the incident, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner ordered an investigation into the actions of the responding officers and Victoria Police Chief Del Manak determined that no discipline was necessary. In investigations involving police officers, officials from other jurisdictions are sometimes called in to avoid the local department investigating itself.
However, last July, the commissioner decided to seek a second opinion, after deeming Manak’s findings could be incorrect. At that point, retired judge Brian Neal was appointed to consider the incident and any possible disciplinary proceedings.
Last month, Neal determined the officers involved "acted oppressively" in handcuffing Johnson and his granddaughter.
"I have found that the officers’ actions in arresting and handcuffing the parties was undertaken without reasonable and probable grounds," Neal wrote in the decision shared by the Heiltsuk Nation in early April.
"I have found that no reasonable police officer standing in the shoes of the two officers could support such actions based on suspicion alone."
The First Nation and Johnson have invited constables Canon Wong and Mitchel Tong, the officers involved, to Bella Bella if they wish to apologize and participate in a traditional healing ceremony.
On Thursday, Johnson said neither of the officers has responded to the invitation.
A separate complaint against the VPD has yet to be resolved by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won't have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
Video shows octopus 'hanging on for dear life' during bomb cyclone off B.C. coast
Humans weren’t the only ones who struggled through the bomb cyclone that formed off the B.C. coast this week, bringing intense winds and choppy seas.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.