Indigenous people detail violent encounters with Thunder Bay police in human rights complaints
CBC
WARNING: This story contains an image that may be disturbing to some readers.
Indigenous people living in Thunder Bay, Ont., are speaking out about recent encounters with city police they are characterizing as police brutality, and they're calling for the violence to stop.
Among those speaking out is John Semerling, 61, a Métis man from Thunder Bay.
On Wednesday, TBPS Const. Ryan Dougherty was charged by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) with one count of assault causing bodily harm to Semerling.
"I'm looking for the Thunder Bay police to fire him. He should not be in any kind of authority position," Semerling said in an interview with CBC News. "He didn't do his job properly. He used force when no force was necessary."
CBC News asked the Thunder Bay Police Service's (TBPS) media relations department for an interview with Dougherty, but did not receive a response. We also asked for an interview regarding other cases detailed in recently filed human rights complaints but received written answers instead.
Dougherty is now on "non front-line administrative duties," according to a statement from TBPS spokesperson Scott Paradis.
The call for accountability comes amidst a number of ongoing SIU charges and investigations, and human rights complaints made by Indigenous people about excessive use of force by city police — as well as outstanding concerns about police treatment of sudden death cases involving Indigenous people.
One evening in early November 2022, TBPS officers showed up to Semerling's house to conduct a mental wellness check, Semerling said, after he had lost his job earlier that day.
Semerling and his wife both told the officers he was not at any risk to himself, but police said he had to go to the hospital, Semerling said, so he was handcuffed and taken to the Thunder Bay regional hospital.
The 61-year-old said he waited more than an hour at the hospital without receiving any attention, so he decided to leave and start walking home. He was walking down Oliver Road, when a police car suddenly pulled up and Dougherty got out, Semerling said.
"The police pulled up onto the sidewalk. His camera was turned off. His radio wasn't working, so he beat me, and then said that I was combative and that he could have charged me with assault," said Semerling.
A police report obtained by CBC News says Dougherty's portable radio was not working, and that the officer "did not activate his body worn camera at the start of his interactions."
The report, which was authored by Dougherty, said the officer asked Semerling multiple times to put his hands on the police vehicle. When Semerling refused, the report adds, "for Semerling's safety, Constable Dougherty grabbed a hold of Semerling's jacket and after a brief struggle, Semerling was grounded, landing on his back."
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