The BC Civil Liberties Association among other groups, including the family of Haida Elder Jimmie Johannesson, have issued 含羞草研究社淐alls to Action含羞草研究社� five months after Johannesson was shot dead by the Surrey RCMP during a wellness check in Whalley on April 8.
Beside his family and the BCCLA, Pivot Legal Society, #Justice for Jared and The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) are among the coalition.
Johannesson含羞草研究社檚 sister, Ruby Marks, was not available for comment.
She and Laura Holland, founder of Justice for Jared, sent a letter to B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth and federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino on Sept. 8 concerning Johannesson含羞草研究社檚 last minutes as well as recommendations intended to prevent such a death from happening again.
含羞草研究社淓lder Jimmie called police that morning out of concern that he was a danger to himself. In response to this Elder含羞草研究社檚 call for help, the Emergency Response Team (whose officers wear military-style uniforms) and armed RCMP Officers were dispatched and surrounded his home,含羞草研究社� their letter reads. 含羞草研究社淭he RCMP含羞草研究社檚 lack of training around mental health, de-escalation and safe disarming techniques then saw them opening fire in his home where Jimmie was shot in the arm, leg, and twice in the heart. What began as a desperate cry for help ended in a senseless tragedy at the hands of the state when Jimmie was pronounced dead at the hospital.含羞草研究社�
Surrey RCMP Const. Sarbjit Sangha, a spokeswoman for the detachment, told the Now-Leader on Thursday that because 含羞草研究社渢his matter is under independent investigation which we need to respect,含羞草研究社� that 含羞草研究社渋t would not be appropriate to comment on the BCCLA/UNBCIC release in advance of the conclusion of the investigation.含羞草研究社�
The letter calls on the two levels of government to eliminate police involvement in wellness checks and 含羞草研究社渞eallocate resources to a peer-led mental health emergency response team trained in de-escalation and professional mental health professions whose practices are rooted in and informed by the community, all while prioritizing crisis support and care for the distressed person or family.含羞草研究社�
Moreover, among other related recommendations, the coalition calls for the end of police checks 含羞草研究社� maintaining that street checks 含羞草研究社渙utside of an investigation含羞草研究社� are discriminatory and violate people含羞草研究社檚 privacy, exposing individuals 含羞草研究社渢o further surveillance and potential criminalization含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社� and for government to establish 含羞草研究社渆xplicit, sanction-backed legal duties含羞草研究社� for police to cooperate with the Surrey-based police watchdog Independent Investigations Office (IIO, and for police and the IIO to 含羞草研究社渟afeguard evidence.含羞草研究社�
The coalitions is also calling on government to 含羞草研究社渞ecruit Black and Indigenous investigators with knowledge of the lived experiences of these racialized communities, for the IIO to appoint an Indigenous Civilian Monitor, or a separate board of Indigenous Civilian Monitors, 含羞草研究社渢o oversee each investigation where an Indigenous person is identified as a victim or affected party in an incident of death, serious harm, or reportable injury,含羞草研究社� to restrict firearm possession to a small percentage 含羞草研究社� ie., less than five per cent含羞草研究社澓卟菅芯可鐡 specifically and highly trained officers, and make mandatory a policy for body cameras to be worn by all municipal, provincial and federal police officers at all times when on duty.
含羞草研究社淵ou each have significant influence and legal authorities at your disposal to constrain police and augment civilian oversight mechanisms,含羞草研究社� Marks and Holland told the politicians. 含羞草研究社淲e ask you to use your authority without delay as each day passes where another life is taken, distrust of police organizations grows and communities are left torn and broken by the lack of accountability, community safety and care for its citizens.含羞草研究社�
On the call to eliminate police involvement in wellness checks, asked what happens if police aren含羞草研究社檛 on scene to protect mental health workers if a person produces a weapon, Mara Selanders, staff counsel (community) for the BCCLA, told the Now-Leader on Thursday that 含羞草研究社渢here are people with greater skills at de-escalation than the police currently possess, that are able to de-escalate a situation that might mean that the person who did have the weapon has no reason to use it in the end.
含羞草研究社淪o that含羞草研究社檚 kind of the main focus is looking to greater skills at de-escalation and actually managing the situation,含羞草研究社� Selanders said. 含羞草研究社淥ften the police, whether by their mere presence or by the way they handle a situation, that escalates it to the point that weapons are actually used. That含羞草研究社檚 what we含羞草研究社檝e seen, time and again.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檝e seen time and again that the situations often escalate beyond what they ever needed to be in the first place,含羞草研究社� Selanders added, 含羞草研究社渂ecause police do not have those same skills that a lot of front-line healthcare and mental health workers possess.含羞草研究社�
As for the IIO含羞草研究社檚 investigation into the police含羞草研究社檚 role in Johannesson含羞草研究社檚 death, she noted, 含羞草研究社渢he investigation is still open and ongoing. No conclusions on that front.含羞草研究社�
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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