Patrol adds mental health checks
Indigenous group acts after video of police hitting man in arrest
Following the release of a video showing several Saskatoon Police officers punching an Indigenous man who was pinned to the ground and struggling, the Okihtcitawak Patrol Group says it will start doing mental health and wellness checks for vulnerable people.
The Indigenous Joint Action Coalition, the Saskatoon advocacy group that shared the video, allege 27-year-old Evan Penner, the man being punched by officers, was arrested after police were called regarding a mental health and wellness check.
Saskatoon Police have referred to the original call on July 4 as a “suspicious person” report.
However, the widely circulated information has already had an effect at the grassroots level.
Colin Naytowhow, a co-founder of the Okihtcitawak Patrol Group, has mental health first aid training and experience in cultural teachings. He says that when he encounters people in distress he bases his response around cultural teaching, meets people where they are at and walks alongside the people they work with.
“We get a better response when we do meet them that way,” Naytowhow said.
The Okihtcitawak Patrol Group has been conducting regular patrols in Saskatoon’s Pleasant Hill and Riversdale neighbourhoods for the last two years, assisting people on the streets and connecting them to resources.
Now they are expanding their services and Naytowhow says the group will respond to mental health checks anywhere in the city from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.
The nearly seven-minute-long video of Penner’s arrest shows a Saskatoon police officer attempting to take Penner into custody, straddling him and striking him several times while Penner struggles and cries out.
Other police officers arrive and a Taser is used before Penner is subdued.
Penner was ultimately arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer, disarming a peace officer, mischief and possession of a controlled substance.
His lawyer says Penner suffered injuries to his face and arm.
The Saskatoon Police Service say one police officer involved has been placed on leave and the Public Complaints Commission will be conducting an investigation with oversight from the province.
POLICE UNION SAYS OFFICER ACTED APPROPRIATELY
The Saskatoon Police Association, the union representing Saskatoon police officers, said in a media release Tuesday that the video only depicted the use-of-force aspect of the arrest and “doesn’t show much needed context around the interaction.”
President Dean Pringle said he hopes the public will “hold judgment” until a full, independent investigation takes place. In the statement, Pringle said recent events around policing in North America have people concerned and that police officers understand why there is increased scrutiny in these events.
Pringle said the association believes the officer acted appropriately under the circumstances and it looks forward to him resuming his duties “as quickly as possible.”
Pringle disputed allegations that police were responding to a “wellness check” and said officers had been called by a resident in an apartment building about a person — he did not provide further details about the call — and that it was the second time that day police had responded to a call regarding the individual.
Pringle said the person had “earlier been apprehended and released following a complaint he had exposed himself to a member of the community.”
FSIN RENEW CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT POLICE
OVERSIGHT
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations said Tuesday it is standing with Penner and is calling on Saskatoon police to “immediately” review and amend its use-of-force policies and “bring an end to police brutality against First Nations people.” It is also renewing its call for a public inquiry into systemic discrimination in the justice system.
Vice-chief Dutch Lerat said in a statement that incidents like Penner’s arrest put a “heavy strain” on the relationship between First Nations people and the Saskatoon police.
He noted the relationship is still healing following the Stonechild Inquiry into the 1990 freezing death of 17-year-old Neil Stonechild.
A 2004 report concluded Stonechild had been in police custody before he was later found dead of hypothermia on the outskirts of the city.
“While some recommendations were implemented from that inquiry, there are still instances of police brutality taking place at the hands of SPS members. This is why it is important to have an independent investigating body that looks into allegations of police brutality,” Lerat said in the statement.
Lerat said the FSIN will continue to maintain its call for an independent, civilian-led police oversight authority.
VIDEO COULD HAVE LASTING EFFECT ON PUBLIC PERCEPTION
Scott Thompson, a professor of sociology at the University of Saskatchewan, says videos of incidents involving officers can have a long-lasting effect on public perception and understanding of a police service.
Thompson said research shows that when people have one bad encounter — or view one of these videos — it can take several other positive experiences to undo the harm of that one negative experience.
“This might not seem fair to the police, but there’s a higher expectation and standard when you play the role of protecting the community,” Thompson said.
He said there is increased sensitivity around the police in Saskatoon because of the conclusions of the Stonechild Inquiry.
Research suggests that when people develop feelings of distrust of a police service, they’re less willing to engage with police or feel police can help, Thompson said.