Security video shows Indigenous man and granddaughter being handcuffed by Vancouver police
Security video showing an Indigenous man and his 12-year-old granddaughter being handcuffed in downtown Vancouver more than a year ago has now been made public.
While the police are defending the officers' actions in response to a human rights complaint filed following the incident, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is now looking to intervene in the case, and is calling for action on systemic racism.
The 45-minute long video shared by the UBCIC and the Heiltsuk Nation shows two police officers with Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter out on the busy sidewalk of Burrard Street.
The officers place them in handcuffs, and roughly 13 minutes later it appears the cuffs are removed from the child. More than 30 minutes after first appearing outside, Johnson and a police officer appear to head back towards the bank.
Johnson says the video is still hard to watch.
“I had to keep calm and keep a good head on my shoulders for my granddaughter, because she was crying,” he said. “That was one of the hardest things to see.”
Johnson went to the bank in December 2019 to open an account for his granddaughter, when staff mistakenly suspected fraud and called 911. Last fall, Johnson filed a human rights complaint. Now the UBCIC is also hoping to get involved, represented by lawyer and former B.C. child and youth representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond.
“These kinds of police acts, where people are handcuffed and humiliated and mistreated, and their rights are not respected, these are very serious issues that will not be tolerated,” Turpel-Lafond said. “There has to be proper justice here. There has to be proper change.”
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip with the UBCIC said his organization and other Indigenous people across the country are standing in solidarity with Johnson and his granddaughter.
“We have all experienced ugly racism that is very harmful and very traumatizing,” he said. “And in extreme cases, racism kills. It must stop. It must stop now.”
Johnson and the Heiltsuk Nation have also launched an online anti-racism campaign, called Strong As Cedar, where people are being encouraged to share their experiences, as well as help fundraise for legal fees.
Chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Nation Marilyn Slett said their leadership is supporting Johnson and his granddaughter, and want to empower their members to speak out and seek justice.
“In a just society, Indigenous people must be able to walk down the street, go grocery shopping, go to the bank, carry out ordinary activities of life without being assumed to be criminals,” she said.
In a response filed to the human rights complaint, legal counsel for the Vancouver Police Board deny the officers actions were discriminatory, and called their conduct “appropriate and measured."
The police department would not comment on Wednesday, citing an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.
Johnson said he’d like more education around government-issued status cards, which he had provided at the bank before an employee became suspicious and called police, and an apology.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.