In November, Heather Campbell was sworn in as a citizen-appointed member of the Calgary Police Commission.
While the professional engineer with TC Energy has a long resume that includes a Master of Laws and extensive volunteering, she says this latest role with the police commission sparked when she was just 15 years old.
In 1988, Campbell’s friend Michael Wade Lawson, a 17-year-old Black teen, was in a stolen vehicle with another youth when he was shot and killed by police in Mississauga, Ont.
“That situation was the beginning of a massive investigation,” said Campbell. “Wade’s mother had been my hairdresser since I was eight years old. I knew Wade intimately. He would always be at the salon mowing the lawn or chatting. He was the same age as my older brother.”
Two police officers were found not guilty of all charges in the shooting.
After Lawson’s death, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit was created to investigate cases of police misconduct that resulted in injury or death to civilians.
“Wade had never been in trouble so they didn’t have a police mug shot, so when the papers ran his photo it was his school picture and it was just his beautiful smiling face in a rugby shirt. You couldn’t find the thug image because that’s not who he was,” Campbell said.
“Most people would need trauma counselling but we didn’t have any of that. But I think that incident, at that moment, and my leadership in other areas of community have really just been a leading and a pathway to being a commissioner with the Calgary Police Commission,” Campbell said.
Losing her friend at that age seared something in Campbell, but it was when she expressed her opinion about the shooting in a classroom as a teenager that shifted her perception of adults in authority. She said it was the result of the reaction she got from a teacher.
“Her tone was very much, ‘Well, he was in a stolen car so things happen.’ And I remember just thinking, ‘Who takes bullets in the head for sitting in a stolen car?’ So I think my sense of justice and my ability to challenge those who are perceived to have more knowledge than me probably ended on that day,” Campbell said.
Campbell also knows the challenges faced by police. Her best friend’s father was an officer, so she said she is able to bring a balanced perspective to the commission.
“I bring a lived experience of racism. I bring an understanding of justice. I bring what every Calgarian wants to see – a safe community. I understand the work police do,” Campbell said.
Campbell said she’s proud of where the Calgary Police Service is now when it comes to anti-racism work and she wants to continue with the momentum that began last year with movements like Black Lives Matter.
“There’s been an acknowledgement by the commission and by the service that systemic racism exists in policing and in society as a whole and that is massive,” Campbell said.
Campbell said she still thinks of her friend Wade every time another young Black man is killed by police. As for one ultimate goal she has for her time with the police commission: seeing anti-racism becoming a value.
“Much like for those in the energy industry, we think of safety as a value. It’s continuing that really good momentum and the really good work that has already been started by the commission and the Calgary Police Service.”
In February 2019, Campbell was appointed to the provincial Anti-Racism Advisory Council. She stepped down as co-chair this year.
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