Winnipeg’s mayor is calling on Winnipeggers to come together and keep lines of communication open amid the ongoing protests unfolding in the United States and Canada following the death of George Floyd.
Brian Bowman was joined by Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief John Lane at a press conference Tuesday to discuss the city’s response to the protests and unrest that’s spread internationally over the last few days.
“Racism is real and it occurs here in Winnipeg, it occurs in Manitoba, and it occurs across Canada and around the world,” Bowman said.
“Today there are members of our community who are hurting, who are angry, and at this moment, more than ever, they need to know that they’re community is listening to them.”
“If you’re one of the members of the community who is hurting and angry because of racism, I want you to know Winnipeg is listening.”
The death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, after an interaction with police has brought racial injustice concerns in the United States to a boiling point.
The 46-year-old man died after being arrested by police outside a store in Minneapolis, Minn.
His arrest was captured on cellphone video, showing a white police office kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes while he was pinned to the ground. The video led to widespread outrage across the country, spurring protests, which sometimes included looting and vandalism.
Derek Chauvin, 44, the white police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck in the video, was charged Friday with third-degree murder and manslaughter as the protests proliferated.
‘It was criminal and it was difficult to watch’
Smyth said he was “sickened” when he first saw the video.
“There was nothing that I saw in the footage that would have justified that kind of conduct,” he said.
“It was unnecessary, it was avoidable, and quite frankly it was criminal and it was difficult to watch.”
Smyth and Lane said their members undergo training, including sessions on how to understand and combat unconscious bias, and both said their departments are working to make improvements in how members treat everyone in the community.
But Smyth acknowledged mistakes are made.
“The outrage and the anger both in Minneapolis, throughout the world, and here locally, it’s understandable and it’s palatable,” he said.
“There are a lot of distinctions between policing in the United States and policing in Canada, but for many people of colour, for Indigenous peoples in our community and those in marginalized communities, there’s some shared experience.
“We are here to listen to our community, to have a dialogue with our community, and to learn from our community.”
The press conference came as anti-racism demonstrations are held around the world, and a rally is planned in Winnipeg on Friday.
Organizers of the upcoming Justice4BlackLives rally at the Manitoba legislature, scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m., say it will be a peaceful protest.
Earlier on Tuesday, Winnipeg’s deputy mayor Markus Chambers and Coun. Sherri Rollins said they both plan on attending the Justice4BlackLives rally.
Smyth said Winnipeg police are working with the rally’s organizers, and added those organizers are making efforts to make sure social distancing is practiced at the protest
He says police will have a presence at the protest — but not with helmets and shields as has been seen in the United States.
The goal, Smyth said, is to make sure everyone is safe.
“We are in full support of peaceful protest,” he said.
“We’ll ensure everybody’s safety during that time — it is important for our community that it’s given a voice to its concerns (and) that their voice is heard.
“From my perspective as a police service, it’s important that we hear their perspective and that we listen.”
— With files from Global News’ Rachael D’Amore and Diana Foxall
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