Justin Trudeau said he had serious questions about what had happened.
Ottawa, Canada:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday called for an independent investigation after a “shocking” video showing the arrest of an indigenous chief by the federal police.
The video, filmed and released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, shows an officer rushing over to Chief Allan Adam on March 10 during a meeting with an expired license plate. The officer attacks Adam and punches him in the face.
“We have all now seen the shocking video of Chief Adam’s arrest and we need to get to the bottom of it,” said Trudeau in a daily briefing.
“Like many people, I have serious questions about what happened,” he said. “The independent investigation must be transparent and conducted in such a way as to obtain answers.”
In the dashcam video, broadcast by several Canadian media, Adam had a heated exchange with a police officer outside a casino in the province of Alberta.
The tense situation quickly escalates when the officer tries to handcuff Adam’s wife, and a second officer is seen pressing Adam to the ground and punching him in the face.
Last weekend, Adam circulated images of his bruised and beaten face after the arrest.
“We know this is not an isolated incident,” said Trudeau. “Far too many black Canadians and Aboriginal people do not feel safe with the police. This is unacceptable. And as governments, we have to change that. ”
Thousands of Canadians demonstrated in solidarity with American protesters against racism and police brutality after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during an arrest by Minneapolis police.
Last Friday, Trudeau himself kneeled down, a popular gesture of protest, during a demonstration outside his office in Ottawa.
The Prime Minister said on Thursday that systemic racism exists in all Canadian institutions, including the RCMP, after the country’s biggest cop backed down from the idea.
Friday, after a week of refusal, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki reversed her position and acknowledged in a statement that “systemic racism is part of every institution, including the RCMP”.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
