Treatment of witnesses after police shooting a sign of systemic racism: expert

Rudin, a Toronto-based law professor who has written studies for previous inquiries into conflicts between police and aboriginals, said the treatment of the witnesses “is not something that I think can be explained other than as an example of systemic racism.”

Police officers have testified they were responding to a disturbance at McDougall’s father’s home on Aug. 2, 2008, following 911 calls about a possible break-in and stabbing.

Former sergeant Robert Bell told the inquiry three officers arrived and were confronted by McDougall. He was brandishing a knife and ignored repeated warnings to drop it before being shot, Bell said.

McDougall’s relatives have said he had a cellphone in his hand and was talking to his girlfriend when he was shot. Police recovered a knife at the scene.

Rudin told the inquest he could not say if systemic racism played a role in the shooting, but the way the unarmed witnesses were treated points to entrenched discrimination.

He said there is a history of mistrust between indigenous communities and police that dates back to the residential schools era when police would help remove children from their families.

“The police have often been used as agents of colonialism.”

Adding to the problem, he said, is that many police forces are largely non-aboriginal, while indigenous communities are often heavily policed. For officers who come from non-aboriginal communities, their only contact with First Nations may be while investigating crimes or complaints, he said.

Rudin’s views were challenged by Kim Carswell, lawyer for the Winnipeg Police Service, who suggested officers could not assume the witnesses were not a threat.

She pointed to earlier testimony that the witnesses had initially resisted commands to stay inside the house after McDougall had been shot, and had tried to push their way out the front door while officers pushed back.

“There was yelling during this period,” Carswell said.

The struggle “actually broke the door.”

Carswell also questioned Rudin’s suggestion that a middle-class family would have been treated differently by Winnipeg police.

“You’re importing your Toronto experience to Winnipeg. Would that be fair (to say)?”

Rudin’s testimony is an exception for Manitoba inquests. Overseen by a provincial court judge, their mandate is normally limited to a specific event. The mandate for the McDougall inquest has been expanded to examine the possibility of systemic racism in the police force.

One way to address racism among police is to ensure anti-bias training programs are reviewed regularly to keep up with research, Rudin said. He also recommended that officers undergo anti-bias training regularly, instead of just at the start of their career.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Treatment of witnesses after police shooting a sign of systemic racism: expert

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