New handcuffing policy approved by Vancouver Police Board but Indigenous, Black communities not consulted
The Vancouver Police Board approved a new, interim handcuffing policy for the local police department Thursday.
The changes came after an Indigenous man and his 12-year-old granddaughter and a B.C. Supreme Court justice, who is Black, were detained in separate incidents.
In 2019, Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed after trying to open an account at a downtown Vancouver Bank of Montreal using their government-issued status cards.
"It really hurts us inside what happened to us, being taken out of BMO bank and being handcuffed right on the street," Johnson told CTV News.
And earlier this year, Selwyn Romilly, the first Black person to be named a B.C. Supreme Court justice, was wrongfully detained near English Bay in what police called a case of mistaken identity. At the time, Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said he was "appalled" by the situation.
"Such incidents are unacceptable and cannot continue to happen," Stewart said in a statement.
The new policy, pitched to the board on Thursday, recommended that handcuffs only be used when reasonable, proportionate to the risk, and necessary to fulfil a legitimate policing objective when the officer believes using cuffs is necessary. It also said officers shouldn't handcuff a child who appears to be under the age of 12, unless all other options have been exhausted.
In approving the policy, however, the board reportedly didn't consult with any affected communities, including Johnson or his First Nation. The police board also didn't appear to consult its own advisory committees before recommending the changes.
The chief of the Heiltsuk Nation believes the lack of consultation points to a much larger problem.
"We really, truly believe that there is systemic racism and discrimination within the Vancouver Police Department," Chief Marilyn Slett told CTV News Vancouver.
In Thursday's meeting, some members of the board pushed for consultation before the interim policy is made permanent.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ben Miljure and Nafeesa Karim
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.