Citing ‘broken’ relationship, report calls for new VPD apology in wrongful handcuffing

The office of the BC Human Rights Commissioner said a collaborative apology is needed to overcome the systemic racism involved in a wrongful handcuffing incident.

In December 2019, Heiltsuk Nation member Maxwell Johnson was with his granddaughter, Tori-Anne,  at a Bank of Montreal bank when they were wrongfully handcuffed.

Staff incorrectly suspected the Johnsons presented fake status cards when trying to open an account.

An agreement was struck between the Johnsons, Vancouver Police Board and the Heiltsuk Nation in September 2022, to settle a human rights complaint. The complaint, filed by Maxwell Johnson, said the handcuffing of him and his granddaughter was done without even speaking to them, or investigating the allegation made.

As part of the settlement agreement, the parties agreed to collaborate on a “series of steps” to address systemic issues in the Vancouver Police Department.

The B.C. Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender,  was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the agreement.

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The settlement agreement included that the police board admits that the conduct discriminated against the complainants based on their Indigenous identities, damages to the Johnson family for injury to dignity of an undisclosed amount, and $100,000 to Heiltsuk First Nation’s restorative justice department, to fund one year of community programming for at-risk young women, including young women who suffer anxiety due to traumatic incidents.

“The agreement reached by the Johnson family, the Heiltsuk Nation and the Vancouver Police Board to work together to address racism in policing was and is something to celebrate,” Govender said. “However, in my review, I found that the relationship between the Heiltsuk Nation and the VPB has broken down and must be repaired in order to move forward. I urge the parties to collaborate and recommit to the promise of this landmark agreement and to move forward in a way that respects Heiltsuk law.”

To move the agreement forward, the commissioner’s report recommends that the Heiltsuk and Vancouver Police Board work together to facilitate a new Apology Ceremony.

Govender also calls for a meeting between the leadership of each party, along with representatives of the Johnson family, that should happen within the next three months.

Vancouver Police Board’s vice chair Frank Chong issued a statement regarding the report.

“We regret what took place on December 20, 2019, and the Board—which provides civilian oversight of the VPD—is taking strong action to prevent it from happening again,” he said. “Our Board is deeply committed to working together with the Johnson Family, Heiltsuk Tribal Council, and Union of BC Indian Chiefs to review existing policies and develop new policies and training to address systemic discrimination and anti-Indigenous racism.”

Chong went on to say since 2019 the VPD and police board have implemented “new policies, procedures, and cultural awareness initiatives” to improve conduct and has created a collaborative training program for officers with help from the VPD’sIndigenous Advisory Committee.

“We are committed to continuing this work with the HTC in the spirit outlined by the Commissioner, to resolve current disagreements and find a path forward together,” Chong said.

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Just a few months ago in December, Maxwell and Tori-Anne called for more discipline for the two officers that handcuffed them.

While the constables told a retired judge who disciplined them that they were willing to apologize in person for their actions, neither attended a dedicated ceremony in the Heiltsuk home of Bella Bella.

Johnson said he feels his family, culture and community were “disrespected.”

“Having them not come up here in the original apology feast that we had, it put a lot of stress on Tori, myself, my son, our whole community, our hereditary leaders,” he said. “It just goes to show you that they don’t want to respect our culture and our ways of life.”

The apology ceremony was a key requirement of a human rights settlement between the Vancouver Police Board, Johnson and his family, the Heiltsuk First Nation and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.

According to Vancouver Police Union president Ralph Kaisers, the two police constables involved in the incident apologized to Johnson and Tori-Anne at the scene in December, apologized again in writing, and intended to attend the apology ceremony. Only when it changed from an agreed-upon private meeting into a public event did they cancel, he said.

Last spring, retired judge Brian Neal, acting as a discipline authority for the OPCC, found that constables Canon Wong and Mitchel Tong “recklessly used unnecessary force” when arresting Johnson and Tori-Anne, who “presented no risk to the safety of any person and provided no concern for flight and unpredictability.”

Wong and Tong were suspended for several days and ordered to complete immersive Indigenous cultural sensitivity training, retrain on de-escalation skills, risk assessment and power of arrest, as well as provide a written apology to Johnson and Tori-Anne.

They were also required to offer to meet the pair in person to listen to their concerns and provide an oral apology “at a time and in a manner agreeable to the parties.”

Govender said with its review and report done, she hopes all parties can come together to get “back on track” and the new apology ceremony is crucial at rebuilding a working relationship between VPD and the Heiltsuk Nation.

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