Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs applies to intervene in case against VPD for handcuffing Indigenous pair
This story originally appeared on CBC.ca on June 16, 2021.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs is bringing an application to intervene in the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal case against the Vancouver Police Department over the handcuffing of a Heiltsuk man and his granddaughter while trying to open her first bank account at a branch of BMO in 2019.
“There’s been no change in the racist culture at the Vancouver Police Department,” said UBCIC president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip at a news conference on Wednesday, when a video showing Maxwell Johnson and Tori-Anne, then 12, being put in cuffs by officers was also released by the Heiltsuk Nation.
“There needs to be consequences that will change the racist attitudes of police officers,” Phillip added.