Ex-Canadian Tire worker will not face charges

Indigenous man who livestreamed incident calls the decision ‘a farce’

A man who accused a Canadian Tire employee of racism and assault says the decision not to lay charges in the case “looks like a farce.”

Kamao Cappo said the decision, announced by Regina police Thursday, “smacks of racism.”

“If people can’t see this then they’re wilfully blind. I’m sorry I have to be so harsh with these words, but that’s the way it is …”

Cappo laid the complaint with police after he and a friend went into the east Regina Canadian Tire to buy a chainsaw on July 26. They left without it after Cappo says a store employee accused him of stealing, assaulted him and forced them to leave the store. Cappo had put a can of oil and a chain inside a the tool’s case but then left it with customer service as he went back to look for another chainsaw. Cappo believes he was accused because he is Indigenous.

On Thursday, police said the case is now concluded after a comprehensive investigation and no criminal charges will result.

According to the Ministry of Justice, which makes the final decision on charges, there was not a reasonable likelihood of conviction in this case.

“After examining all of the evidence, including accounts from a number of witnesses, the Crown determined it could not prove the actions of the store employee went beyond an honest defence of store property, something the Criminal Code allows,” a statement from the ministry read. “While the store employee may have been mistaken in his assessment of the situation, the Crown would not be able to prove, on the evidence available, that he was dishonest about that assessment or acted unreasonably on the facts available to him.”

“There was a lot of political communication around this, there was a lot of social media activity about this, and so when we’re looking at making a decision on laying a charge, we have a threshold that we look at, which is reasonable and probable grounds,” Police Chief Evan Bray said.

“The Crown prosecutors have a threshold that’s a little bit higher than that, which is likelihood of conviction and then ultimately a judge and jury will look at proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Cappo broadcast a portion of the interaction in a Facebook live video that has been viewed more than 350,000 times. Police looked at that video as part of the investigation, but no store surveillance video was found.

“I’ve shown them — even with video recordings — that there’s nothing that you can do,” he said. “The white man is allowed to beat you and they get away with it. There is nothing you can do but put your head down and accept it. It’s open season on Indigenous people.”

After the incident in July, an anti-racism protest was held outside the store.

Bray hoped there would be no backlash as a result of this week’s decision.

“Will there be protests, will there be statements? I can’t really speculate on that. All I can say is that I would hope that they would remain peaceful,” Bray said.

Cappo spoke with prosecutors and police Thursday, a meeting he says lasted about 15 minutes.

The news relayed there didn’t come as a total shock to him.

“Myself and the rest of Indigenous people kind of expected the police wouldn’t do anything,” he said late Thursday afternoon.

“Charges should have been laid and we should have gone to court. In Canada, there are two justice systems — one for white people and one for Indigenous people.”

Canadian Tire said the employee involved is no longer working there. The store did not return calls for comment Thursday.

Regina police have been communicating with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) from the start of the investigation, Bray said.

“As a result, today we have a very good working relationship with FSIN,” he said Thursday. “I spoke with Vice-Chief Kim Jonathan on the phone a couple of times this afternoon to advise her of what the decision was from prosecutions and what the process was.”

Jonathan later called for an independent inquiry into the decision made by police and prosecutors. She said it was “disheartening” given that authorities had access to Cappo’s statement and video evidence, as well as witnesses.

Jonathan said the decision sends a message to Indigenous children and teenagers across the province that they are always going to be the person who is in the wrong and that there will be “no justice” for them until something changes.

“We can’t make this up,” Jonathan said. “It’s (something) that happens in our realities.”