Heiltsuk Nation wants RCMP officer removed over social media posts
CBC
Members of the Heiltsuk Nation on B.C.'s Central Coast marched in protest to the Bella Bella RCMP detachment on Friday to call for the immediate suspension of a constable because of "the discovery of a series of racist posts" on the constable's Facebook page.
Screenshots of the social media posts, distributed widely by the Heiltsuk Nation, along with a press release, show a series of selfies, photos and captions which the nation alleges are by RCMP Const. Adrian Robinson.
The posts are from a social media account named "Adrian Reubenstein," but in its press release, the nation claims the account belongs to Robinson.
"You can't believe it on your first read," said elected Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett, recalling when the images first came across her screen.
"These posts are racist in nature and unacceptable by an RCMP officer serving in an Indigenous community," she told CBC News.
She is also calling on the RCMP to review its code of conduct and to include consultation from the nation in its future hires.
"This is our home, and we deserve to live in a home that is free from racism," she Slett.
One image shows a person dressed in a uniform that the Heiltsuk describe as "colonial regalia" and seated in front of a union jack symbol. A comment on the photo, made by what is alleged to be Robinson's account, reads "Now, whats [sic] to be done about these pesky natives stirring up trouble in the colonies…?" The image is dated 2014.
Another two images posted by the "Adrian Reubenstein" account and shared by the nation show a person, who does not appear to be Black, sitting in a chair. The person appears to be wearing a dark-coloured afro wig and has a fist raised in the air. One image is captioned "Black and Proud" and the other "where's my pick comb?"
A screenshot also shows two images of a person wearing a full green camo outfit weilding a gun. The person is crouching and aiming the weapon in one photo, and the post is captioned "This'l [sic] teach those jehovah's [sic] witnesses to come into my yard." The Heiltsuk Nation says these pictures are also from Robinson.
CBC News has not been able to reach Robinson to answer questions about the posts, nor has CBC News independently viewed the Facebook profile to verify its authenticity. It is now private.
Slett says that although posts were made before the officer was hired, that doesn't change their impact.
"We recognize that these are dated posts — they were not made yesterday. But for us that's not relevant. These are posts that he had up on his personal Facebook page for the world to see … he had a long time to take them down, which he obviously chose not to."
Slett said that a community member found the images and they began circulating online within the community, which prompted some to reach out to council members with concerns. She questioned why the posts hadn't been a reason to screen Robinson out from the hiring process.
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