US EditionEx-judge to decide if Vancouver constables must apologize in person to Heiltsuk pair
A retired judge will review if two Vancouver police officers must provide oral apologies and attend a culturally appropriate ceremony after wrongfully handcuffing a Heiltsuk elder and his granddaughter.
- Yesterday, Police Complaint Commissioner Prabhu Rajan appointed retired B.C. Court of Appeal justice Wally Oppal to adjudicate a full review on requiring oral apologies consistent with Indigenous law.
- The 2019 incident involved Vancouver police detaining Maxwell Johnson, member of the Heiltsuk Nation, and his granddaughter Tori-Anne after a Bank of Montreal employee called 911, and a misconduct finding led to a retired judge ordering oral apologies in March 2022.
- While the officers have written apologies, they have not agreed to apologize in the form requested by the applicants; the Johnsons submitted new evidence on the apology ceremony's importance and ongoing harm, and Rajan said this failure appears to have worsened relations.
- The review has not yet been scheduled, and the Heiltsuk Nation welcomed the OPCC review, saying the Johnsons look forward to being fully heard and ensuring Heiltsuk law is respected.
- A prior human rights settlement produced a Heiltsuk ceremony in October 2022 where senior VPD leadership attended but the two arresting officers did not, leading to tensions including Hereditary Chief Frank Brown returning a gift.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Ex-judge to decide if Vancouver constables must apologize in person to Heiltsuk pair
British Columbia’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has appointed a retired judge to determine if two officers who wrongfully handcuffed an Indigenous man and his granddaughter outside a Vancouver bank in 2019 should be required to provide an oral apology “consistent with Indigenous law.”
Ex-judge to decide if VPD officers should apologize face-to-face to Heiltsuk man, granddaughter
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has appointed a retired judge to conduct the review, after the officers provided a written apology, failing to "apologize in the way requested."
Police complaint commissioner to review discipline decision in handcuffing of Indigenous grandfather, girl
For the first time since its founding, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner will review a discipline decision. It involves two Vancouver police officers who handcuffed an Indigenous grandfather and his 12-year-old granddaughter after they tried to open a bank account for the girl.
Ex-judge to decide if Vancouver constables must apologize in person to Heiltsuk pair – Energeticcity.ca
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has appointed a retired judge to determine if two officers who wrongfully handcuffed an Indigenous man and his granddaughter outside a Vancouver bank in 2019 should be required to provide an oral apology “consistent with Indigenous law.” Maxwell Johnson of the Heiltsuk Nation and his then-12-year-old granddaughter were detained by the officers when they tried to open an ac…
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