Because we are a minority and nobody speaks up for us, every time our people do wrong and the RCMP go and make their call, they always seem to use excessive force. And that has to stop.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam, who says he and his wife were assaulted by RCMP officers.
A chief of a northern Alberta First Nation is accusing the RCMP of assaulting him and his wife during a confrontation over an expired licence plate nearly three months ago.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam has been charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest stemming from a March 10 incident in a mall parking lot in Fort McMurray. But his lawyer says it’s the officer who should be under investigation.
According to Adam, the incident started when a police officer — who was parked behind the truck belonging to him and his wife — told them that their licence plate was expired. He says it eventually escalated to an altercation where he received numerous blows to the head and was tackled to the ground. He said police also used excessive force in arresting his wife, which he believes amounted to an assault.
“Because we are a minority and nobody speaks up for us, every time our people do wrong and the RCMP go and make their call, they always seem to use excessive force,” Adam said at a Saturday press conference. “And that has to stop. And enough is enough.”
In a Saturday media release, Wood Buffalo RCMP said they approached a vehicle with an expired plate and a confrontation occurred when Adam approached the vehicle. Police say he resisted arrest and officers were required to use force to arrest him.
They say they have reviewed video footage from a vehicle camera and have no further comment on its contents.
“This video of the incident was reviewed by superiors as per our policy. It was determined that the members’ actions were reasonable and did not meet the threshold for an external investigation. The matter is now before the courts,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team confirmed Saturday they would investigate the incident. ASIRT investigates incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
According to Adam, the incident started at about 2 a.m. after he and his wife, Freda Courtoreille, were entering their vehicle in the Peter Pond Mall parking lot after leaving a casino in Fort McMurray, about 450 kilometres north of Edmonton. Courtoreille, who was in the driver’s seat, noticed an RCMP vehicle parked behind them.
Adam says he approached the RCMP officer to ask them why they were parked there and introduced himself as Allan Adam, chief of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.
He said the officer told him “I don’t need to talk to you,” so he returned to the truck and told Courtoreille they were told to remain parked.
Adam said his wife lowered the window when the officer approached and knocked on it. He said the officer then reached into the vehicle, put it into park, turned off the ignition and said it could not be driven because the licence plate was expired.
Adam says he tried to explain his registration was out of date because he just got it out of the impound after a family member borrowed his vehicle without permission.
He says the officer responded he’d heard enough and arrested his wife.
“The cop grabbed her, put her up against the truck again, manhandled her and everything. And my wife suffers from stage four (rheumatoid) arthritis. And this RCMP is 250 pounds,” Adam said.
Adam says he told his wife to get into the vehicle and told the officer he didn’t like how he “manhandled” his wife.
That’s when the situation escalated.
He says an officer ran toward him and knocked him to the ground with his arm. He described a “tag team match” where one officer was holding him by the arm while another hit him in the face.
“I dropped to my knees and slowly I could feel I was going unconscious. But all I could remember was that my blood was just gushing out of my mouth,” Adam said. “And all this was for an expired licence plate.”
Brian Beresh, Adam’s lawyer, alleges an officer also put an elbow on Adam’s back and a knee on his neck when he was on the ground. He says Adam suffered “several blows” to the head and was left with numerous scars, bruises, a chipped tooth and a laceration in his mouth.
He said Courtoreille was arrested for obstruction, but not ultimately charged.
Adam was charged with assault resisting arrest, detained overnight and released the next morning, Beresh said. Police never issued a ticket for the expired registration, he added.
Beresh is calling for a full investigation of the incident by an independent police force, a suspension of the constable they’re accusing of assault and for body camera equipment to be worn by every police officer. They also want the RCMP to release the video they have of the March 10 incident. He said the video would show there is no evidence of Adam resisting arrest or assaulting an officer.
Adam and his lawyer have released two videos of the incident, which they say were filmed by citizens. The first, which is about 41 seconds, shows several police officers at the side of a truck with their lights flashing. They tell a woman to get out of the car numerous times.
Near the end of the video, a person who Adam’s lawyer identified as the citizen filming the video says “Take it easy on the lady, guys.”
In the second video, which lasts about three minutes, sirens can be heard as a scuffle occurs. The resolution is low quality and the video is dark, so it’s hard to make out exactly what’s happening.
About 50 seconds in, a man can be heard saying “Ma’am go back in the car now.” After the one-minute mark, a man who has been identified as Adam screams irately “What the f--- is wrong with you guys … I’m not resisting. Stop it. You cut my f---ing mouth, look I’m bleeding. I’m a chief.”
Police can be seen handling someone on the ground.
Adam is to appear in Wood Buffalo Provincial Court, on two charges, on July 2.