Peguis First Nation man files complaint against Winnipeg police after alleged racial profiling

A Peguis First Nation man has filed a complaint against Winnipeg police, alleging they racially profiled and wrongfully detained him last month.

The First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba said Thursday a complaint has been filed with the Law Enforcement Review Agency after the Winnipeg Police Service turned down an invitation for the officers to take part in a sharing circle.

According to the secretariat, at about 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 3, police were called about a disturbance at a Winnipeg hotel where Junior Cochrane was working as an ambassador for the organization, which supports health and well-being initiatives for 63 Manitoba First Nations.

He said he was performing a routine patrol that evening as part of his duties for the secretariat when he noticed two police cars pass by in the parking lot.

Cochrane, 41, continued walking along the side of the building. When he turned a corner, a number of officers emerged from vehicles, he said.

When asked where he was going and what he was doing, Cochrane told them he was working.

He said police questioned that explanation, and when he reached for his phone, officers reached toward their gun holsters.

"I put my hands up and said, 'I am just trying to grab my phone,' and they said, 'Don't move,'" Cochrane said during a Thursday news conference.

Officers alleged he fit the description of someone accused of assaulting the hotel building manager. They then handcuffed and put him in a police vehicle, Cochrane said.

After a search on their in-vehicle computer, Cochrane says officers pulled up an old photo and file on him from about 20 years ago. He said an officer remarked that Cochrane hadn't "been in trouble in a real long time."

"They sounded really surprised about that," he said.

"They kept asking, 'How much did you have to drink, how much did you have to drink?'" Cochrane said, adding he wasn't drinking. "I said, 'I expect an apology from you guys when you find out you got the wrong guy.'"

Cochrane said police went into the hotel to speak with employees. When they emerged, they uncuffed him and let him go, he said.

One officer said they had "the wrong guy," and another then apologized to him, said Cochrane.