2 officers who arrested Heiltsuk man, granddaughter might not attend apology ceremony, nation says
CBC
Two Vancouver police officers, who handcuffed and detained an Indigenous man and his granddaughter when they tried to open a bank account, may no longer be attending an apology ceremony, according to the Heiltsuk nation.
In 2019, Maxwell Johnson and his then 12-year-old granddaughter were detained by the officers on a busy downtown at the Bank of Montreal.
Three years later, after a human rights settlement, the Vancouver Police Board and its officers are poised to apologize in person for discriminating against the pair because of their Indigenous identity, race and ancestry.
The apology is scheduled to take place during a ceremony Monday evening inside the Heiltsuk Nation's big house in Bella Bella, B.C., 480 kilometres northwest of Vancouver. The police delegation is scheduled to arrive on a chartered flight Monday morning.
But the two officers who made the arrest might not be in attendance at Monday's ceremony, according to Heiltsuk leaders who were provided with a passenger list for the plane arriving in the remote village on Monday.
"It will be extremely hurtful to me and my family if the VPD constables do not attend our ceremony tomorrow," said Johnson.
"We were looking forward to coming full circle with them and putting this behind us," he said.
The passenger list included the names of several senior VPD officials, including Chief Const. Adam Palmer and Deputy Chief Const. Howard Chow.
The story became "a symbol of the fight against systemic racism," according to Heiltsuk Chief Marilyn Slett.
But this latest development has Heiltsuk leaders questioning when their fight will end.
A statement released Sunday by the nation says it views the constables' potential non-attendance "as a symptom of the larger systemic failure to acknowledge and take responsibility for systemic racism in policing."
The nation has also suggested that the apology feast cannot go forward.
"Because Heiltsuk protocols do not allow for people to stand in place of others, a traditional apology ceremony cannot be carried out unless all of those who caused the harm are themselves present," read the statement.
"The absence of Constables Wong and Tong would be another hurtful chapter in Mr. Johnson's long journey to address the discrimination he and his granddaughter faced in December of 2019."
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