The release of a surveillance video showing Williams Lake, B.C. RCMP using force against young First Nations men is causing a racial divide in the community.
The video is causing uproar from civil libertarians and aboriginal leaders who call it evidence of systemic mistreatment of aboriginals at the hands of police in the region.
In the Aug. 27 silent footage, Curtis Billy appears to be talking to a police officer in a holding cell when Staff Sgt. Warren Brown grabs Billy and throws him to the ground. The other members in the cell follow Brown's lead.
Philip Stewart, Grand Chief of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said it's indicative of an ongoing problem.
"There's an enormous concern about this ongoing conflict between the RCMP detachment under Sgt. Brown's leadership and the growing tensions in this community," he said.
Staff Sgt. Grant Martin said the Mounties in Williams Lake work hard to build connections with the First Nations community, and he takes offence at the words of people like Stewart.
"I think it's totally inappropriate for people from outside the community to come in and make that kind of statement."
Curtis Billy is the one appearing in court, but today it seemed like the police were the ones on trial.
Sgt. Brown told the court he asked Billy repeatedly to get on the floor before initiating the jail cell arrest. He testified that Billy was using foul language and refusing to comply.
"My Lord, I can assure you, Mr. Billy was trying to struggle, flail, to resist," he said.
Sgt. Brown is the subject of two investigations in connection with the incidents that left Billy with an abrasion to his head.
Despite what the outcome of the investigation is, members of the communities say that it has exposed a divide in the community that goes much deeper than this incident.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
