Two years after he was killed by the Campbell River RCMP, the family of Jared Lowndes has filed a civil claim against the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General as well as four unnamed RCMP officers.
According to the claim, on July 8, 2021, Lowndes was shot and killed by sa国际传媒渙ne or moresa国际传媒� of the police defendants near Tim Hortons in Campbell Riversa国际传媒檚 Willow Point neighbourhood. According to the claim, the RCMP had blocked Lowndessa国际传媒� vehicle, and commanded a police service dog to enter the vehicle through an open window. The police dog was also killed in the incident.
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On Dec. 1, 2022 the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IIO) announced it would be referring the file to the Crown for consideration of charges against three of the unnamed officers, having determined that sa国际传媒渞easonable grounds exist to believe that these three officers may have committed criminal offences in relation to various uses of force.sa国际传媒�
According to an emailed press release from Pivot Legal society, the IIO has not yet filed its report with Crown Counsel.
sa国际传媒淪ystemic delays are unconscionable and inflict an excruciatingly high cost on families left behind. It is appalling that families have no choice but to wait sa国际传媒� usually alone and in the dark sa国际传媒� for any measure of accountability from our dysfunctional system,sa国际传媒� said B.C. Civil Liberties Association director Meghan McDermott in the Pivot Legal Society press release. sa国际传媒淭he lags, holdups, and pauses consistently experienced by families undermine any notion of justice and highlight how broken the current model is.sa国际传媒�
The civil claim seeks general, special, aggravated and punitive damages against the defendants, with Lowndessa国际传媒� family saying that theysa国际传媒檝e suffered the loss of financial support, household services, care, guidance and companionship, inheritance, as well as experienced emotional distress, and incurred funeral expenses.
sa国际传媒淭his lawsuit is a message for the RCMP: you cannot keep killing us,sa国际传媒� Lowndessa国际传媒� mother Laura Holland said in the Pivot press release. sa国际传媒淎cross B.C. and Canada, Indigenous Nations, communities and families are reeling from continued police killings of our people. We must replace these unaccountable systems.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淎t one time I had to have faith in the IIO, it was the only hope we had. Now I need to put my faith in the court system, that hasnsa国际传媒檛 always been just for my people. It is my hope we see some semblance of justice through these systems,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淣othing will bring my son back, my granddaughter will never have her dad at her graduation, and there will be no father to walk her down the aisle if or when she marries. There will be no one to guide her and teach her the things that only a dad can.sa国际传媒�
Supporters of the Lowndes family have been working on a public advocacy campaign since Lowndessa国际传媒� death to bring attention to the Indigenous people who are killed by police or in police custody across the country.
sa国际传媒淭he reality that too many Indigenous people face is that our deaths are swept under the rug because we lack the resources to bring cases like this against police and government, who have access to seemingly-endless resources to fight our people,sa国际传媒� Holland said.
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According to , a website that tracks Canadian police-involved deaths, there have been 117 police-involved killings of Indigenous people since 2000, 17 of which took place in B.C. involving the RCMP. That is out of a total 732 incidents since 2000.
sa国际传媒淔or the entirety of the RCMPsa国际传媒檚 history, they have been killing and displacing Indigenous people and there has been little to no accountability,sa国际传媒� said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) in the Pivot Legal Society press release. sa国际传媒淭hey rarely serve jail time for committing crimes while on the job, and almost never see accountability for violent actions against Indigenous peoples. We have been calling for an overhaul to the racist policing system for years; it is not working, and it is inherently discriminatory.
sa国际传媒淭he disproportionate number of Indigenous peoples in the prison systems, and the alarming increase in brutal deaths in police custody are a testament to this imbalance, and it stems from the systemic racism in these colonial institutions,sa国际传媒� he said.
The family of Jared Lowndes and supporters will mark the anniversary on July 8 in Vancouver, with a community event called Honouring their Names: Indigenous Justice & Healing.
The Mirror has contacted the IIO and the Campbell River RCMP for input on this article.
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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