RCMP facing its day of reckoning over Adam arrest

It’s hard to watch the video of the brutal police takedown of First Nations leader Allan Adam without feeling sick and angry.

Its release late last week came as Canadians hotly debated whether systemic racism exists in this country. The violent encounter it depicts outside the Boomtown Casino in Fort McMurray, Alta., on March 10 will bolster the case of those who believe systemic racism against Indigenous Peoples is all too alive and well.

The 12-minute video from an RCMP cruiser’s dash cam shows an RCMP officer tackling Adam, knocking him to the ground, then punching him in the head. Before the video became public, the RCMP said the use of force was justified. The video contradicts this pat conclusion.

It begins with a police officer stopping Adam, apparently because the licence permit on his pickup truck had expired. Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, was clearly furious at what was happening and his verbal response was laced with profanities. At one point, he moved toward the officer and in another moment assumed what appeared to be a fighting stance. But the situation had still not become physically violent.

Regrettably it did when another RCMP officer arrived and almost immediately knocked Adam down. A later photo of Adam’s face, with a blackened eye, bloodied lips and a blood-streaked cheek, shows the disturbing results of that encounter.

What happens now, specifically how the federal and Alberta governments as well as the RCMP respond to Adam’s beating, is crucial to the future of all Canadians, Indigenous and nonindigenous alike. The investigation belatedly launched by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is just a beginning.

Those who would defend the police actions must explain why a dispute over expired licence plates — a comparatively minor offence punishable by a ticket — had to turn violent. Why didn’t the police deescalate the tense situation?

Adam wasn’t armed. If he had to be restrained couldn’t the two, burly officers seen in the video have done it without injuring him? The officer who tackled Adam had just arrived on the scene and had taken no more than a few seconds to assess the problem before deciding to use force. Why was violence his first, rather than his last, resort?

It is hard to imagine the independent investigation into this incident will not end with the RCMP officers involved in Adam’s arrest being held accountable in some way for a disproportionate use of force. It’s conceivable that beyond a reprimand, they could face charges.

But the wrong against an Indigenous man goes beyond them. Senior RCMP officials must explain why they didn’t call for an external review of Adam’s arrest and why they initially defended the force used against him. Anyone who sees the video will question that conclusion.

Only after Adam complained did the Alberta government order the current investigation. This investigation should also review how the RCMP handled Adam’s beating. If it doesn’t, a separate, independent inquiry should be assigned the job.

In the aftermath of the release of this video, both RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated systemic racism exists in the RCMP. In short order, they must announce the specific policy measures they’ll take to excise this cancer in a vital Canadian institution.

Amid the protests that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, many Canadians insisted this country is different from and better than our American neighbour. The recording of Adam’s beating proves we’re not different enough.