The BC Civil Liberties Association among other groups, including the family of Haida Elder Jimmie Johannesson, have issued sa国际传媒淐alls to Actionsa国际传媒� five months after Johannesson was shot dead by the Surrey RCMP during a wellness check in Whalley on April 8.

Beside his family and the BCCLA, Pivot Legal Society, #Justice for Jared and The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) are among the coalition.

Johannessonsa国际传媒檚 sister, Ruby Marks, was not available for comment.

She and Laura Holland, founder of Justice for Jared, sent a letter to B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth and federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino on Sept. 8 concerning Johannessonsa国际传媒檚 last minutes as well as recommendations intended to prevent such a death from happening again.

sa国际传媒淓lder Jimmie called police that morning out of concern that he was a danger to himself. In response to this Eldersa国际传媒檚 call for help, the Emergency Response Team (whose officers wear military-style uniforms) and armed RCMP Officers were dispatched and surrounded his home,sa国际传媒� their letter reads. sa国际传媒淭he RCMPsa国际传媒檚 lack of training around mental health, de-escalation and safe disarming techniques then saw them opening fire in his home where Jimmie was shot in the arm, leg, and twice in the heart. What began as a desperate cry for help ended in a senseless tragedy at the hands of the state when Jimmie was pronounced dead at the hospital.sa国际传媒�

Surrey RCMP Const. Sarbjit Sangha, a spokeswoman for the detachment, told the Now-Leader on Thursday that because sa国际传媒渢his matter is under independent investigation which we need to respect,sa国际传媒� that sa国际传媒渋t would not be appropriate to comment on the BCCLA/UNBCIC release in advance of the conclusion of the investigation.sa国际传媒�

The letter calls on the two levels of government to eliminate police involvement in wellness checks and sa国际传媒渞eallocate resources to a peer-led mental health emergency response team trained in de-escalation and professional mental health professions whose practices are rooted in and informed by the community, all while prioritizing crisis support and care for the distressed person or family.sa国际传媒�

Moreover, among other related recommendations, the coalition calls for the end of police checks sa国际传媒� maintaining that street checks sa国际传媒渙utside of an investigationsa国际传媒� are discriminatory and violate peoplesa国际传媒檚 privacy, exposing individuals sa国际传媒渢o further surveillance and potential criminalizationsa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� and for government to establish sa国际传媒渆xplicit, sanction-backed legal dutiessa国际传媒� for police to cooperate with the Surrey-based police watchdog Independent Investigations Office (IIO, and for police and the IIO to sa国际传媒渟afeguard evidence.sa国际传媒�

The coalitions is also calling on government to sa国际传媒渞ecruit Black and Indigenous investigators with knowledge of the lived experiences of these racialized communities, for the IIO to appoint an Indigenous Civilian Monitor, or a separate board of Indigenous Civilian Monitors, sa国际传媒渢o oversee each investigation where an Indigenous person is identified as a victim or affected party in an incident of death, serious harm, or reportable injury,sa国际传媒� to restrict firearm possession to a small percentage sa国际传媒� ie., less than five per centsa国际传媒漵a国际传媒� specifically and highly trained officers, and make mandatory a policy for body cameras to be worn by all municipal, provincial and federal police officers at all times when on duty.

sa国际传媒淵ou each have significant influence and legal authorities at your disposal to constrain police and augment civilian oversight mechanisms,sa国际传媒� Marks and Holland told the politicians. sa国际传媒淲e ask you to use your authority without delay as each day passes where another life is taken, distrust of police organizations grows and communities are left torn and broken by the lack of accountability, community safety and care for its citizens.sa国际传媒�

On the call to eliminate police involvement in wellness checks, asked what happens if police arensa国际传媒檛 on scene to protect mental health workers if a person produces a weapon, Mara Selanders, staff counsel (community) for the BCCLA, told the Now-Leader on Thursday that sa国际传媒渢here are people with greater skills at de-escalation than the police currently possess, that are able to de-escalate a situation that might mean that the person who did have the weapon has no reason to use it in the end.

sa国际传媒淪o thatsa国际传媒檚 kind of the main focus is looking to greater skills at de-escalation and actually managing the situation,sa国际传媒� Selanders said. sa国际传媒淥ften the police, whether by their mere presence or by the way they handle a situation, that escalates it to the point that weapons are actually used. Thatsa国际传媒檚 what wesa国际传媒檝e seen, time and again.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e seen time and again that the situations often escalate beyond what they ever needed to be in the first place,sa国际传媒� Selanders added, sa国际传媒渂ecause police do not have those same skills that a lot of front-line healthcare and mental health workers possess.sa国际传媒�

As for the IIOsa国际传媒檚 investigation into the policesa国际传媒檚 role in Johannessonsa国际传媒檚 death, she noted, sa国际传媒渢he investigation is still open and ongoing. No conclusions on that front.sa国际传媒�

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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