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| NEWS > 01 June 2007 |
Other related articles:
Council Members Want Albany Po
Several members of the Albany Common Council are now calling for a state investigation of their own police department.
They say all that too often officers have violated the rights of citizens, and all too infrequently are those officers adequately disciplined.
So the Council President and five of the fifteen members are asking the State Commission of Investigation to examine recent cases, including that of officer Bill Bonani - who is the subject of a number of complaints.
"Officer Bonani, who has repeated offenses against him, continues to remain on the fo... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilun
01 June 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Ontario Provincial Police
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Probe says government and poli
The Ontario police and former premier were racially insensitive and too impatient in dealing with a demonstration over land claims that led to the shooting death of a Canadian native protester, according to a public inquiry released Thursday.
The federal government is also to blame because it was unwilling to negotiate with indigenous Canadians over their historic claims to land taken by the government, Commissioner Sydney Linden said.
«The federal government, the provincial government, and the OPP must all assume some responsibility for decisions or failures that increased the risk of violence and make a tragic confrontation more likely,» said Linden, the inquiry's head.
Protester Dudley George, 38, was shot in 1995 by a police sniper after Canadian native activists occupied Ontario's Ipperwash Provincial Park, claiming it was the site of a sacred burial ground.
Linden found that former Ontario premier Mike Harris did not direct police to enter the park or prompt them to conduct the botched raid. But, he was partially at fault for the shooting for giving police just 24 hours to remove the aboriginal protesters from the park days after it was occupied.
He also found that Harris used a racial slur at a meeting about the demonstration.
Ontario Provincial Police made negotiation unlikely because of their cultural insensitivity, poor communication and unwillingness to involve aboriginal mediators, Linden said.
«There is no place for racial taunts or slurs of any type by police officers,» Linden said.
A police officer was convicted of criminal negligence in 1997. At the time of the shooting, police said they were returning fire from a bus being used by protesters. Investigators found no evidence that the Indians had firearms, and the Indians have denied the allegation.
Dudley's brother said Thursday that Harris should apologize to his family.
«Maybe that's not too much to ask,» Sam George said.
Harris' attorney said his client would not apologize becaues he was not at fault for the shooting.
«This Commissioner has made it clear that an apology is not required,» Peter Downard said.
The shooting _ and subsequent Indian claims of a police cover-up _ badly strained relations between the provincial government and native leaders.
Current Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty apologized for George's death on Thursday, telling the Ontario legislature that nothing can heal the pain that the George family and friends have felt for more than a decade.
David Ramsay, Ontario minister's responsible for Aboriginal affairs, also apologized and said his government has created a response team to focus on the inquiry's recommendations.
Federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said George's death was the result of decades of neglect of land claims by previous federal governments. He said his government is working on major reforms to the land claims system to return the contested land to George's band and to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Linden's report comes as Ontario continues to grapple with a 15-month aboriginal occupation in Caledonia, Ontario. Aboriginal leaders are warning of more protests to come this summer as frustration with the slow pace of land claims boils over in many communities.
Chief Terrence Nelson, of the Roseau River First Nation south of Winnipeg, has threatened a lengthy blockade of national rail lines unless the federal government makes an effort to resolve the land claims by June 29, the planned national day of aboriginal dissent.
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