Blood Tribe Council, Lethbridge police and the mayor held an urgent meeting at city hall Tuesday after what appears to backlash from sectors of the Lethbridge community to last week’s assault.
“We wanted to discuss the root causes of violence in our city,” Mayor Chris Spearman said. “We need to find out how we can resolve these things and prevent them going forward.”
The Blood Tribe Chief and Spearman said they are both saddened to hear about the incident in Lethbridge where a young woman was beaten and is now now fighting for her life.
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They are calling for calm.
“It does not sit well with our Blood Tribe leadership and council, especially if it is one of our tribal members,” Chief Charles Weasel Head said. “We are working hard to build a partnership with the city of Lethbridge.”
Lethbridge police charged 20-year-old Denzel Bird in connection to the brutal assault. Bird is member of the Blood Tribe, but lived in Lethbridge.
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The following statement was posted on the tribe’s website on Sunday:
“The Blood Tribe Chief and Council were saddened to hear about the incident in the city where a young lady was assaulted and injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. We do not condone violence of any kind and are working hard in our community to address social issues.”
“We are also concerned about what appears to be backlash from some sectors of the Lethbridge community when the person arrested in relation to this crime was identified as being from the Blood Tribe. We are prepared to meet with city officials to address these concerns. We are advising any person who experiences any type of threat or adverse encounter related to this matter to contact the nearest police service and respective local government authority.”
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The Blood Tribe, as well as Lethbridge police, are advising any person who experiences threats related to this crime to contact the nearest police service.
“We do not condone violence. We will hold people accountable. We won’t tolerate it,” Chief Robert Davis, with the Lethbridge Police Service, said.
Bird remains in custody and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Oct. 20. He is expected to appear via closed circuit television from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre.