RCMP video of chief’s arrest shocks Trudeau
TRUDEAU SAYS CANADIANS DESERVE ANSWERS AFTER FOOTAGE SHOWS OFFICER CHARGING, STRIKING MAN
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has “serious questions” after the release of a video showing two RCMP officers tackling Indigenous Chief Allan Adam to the ground and striking him repeatedly.
“Far too many Black Canadians and Indigenous people do not feel safe around the police. It’s unacceptable and as government’s we have to change that," said Trudeau.
“I think everyone who has seen this video has serious questions about what exactly happened, about how it happened this way and about the use of force that we saw."
On Thursday, Adam’s lawyer released the video from the dash cam of an RCMP’S cruiser as part of a court application to get criminal charges against the chief stayed.
According to police, the incident began because Adam’s licence plates had expired.
During the 12-minute video, Adam is clearly agitated at times, yelling at an officer and at one point removing his jacket. He also complains that police are harassing him, although he does not appear violent.
But the video goes on to show an RCMP officer charging at Adam, knocking him to the ground and then repeatedly punching him.
The incident happened in early March outside a casino, before coronavirus required lockdowns. Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, near Fort Mcmurray, Alta., was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer after the incident.
Trudeau called the video shocking and said Canadians deserve answers.
“The independent investigation must be transparent and be carried out so that we get answers,” he said.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, a police watchdog in the province, is now investigating, but RCMP supervisors who initially viewed the dash cam footage said they did not see an issue with the use of force.