Indigenous women nearly 10 times more likely to be street checked by Edmonton police, new data shows

Figures obtained by freedom of information request confirm black people also targeted disproportionately

By Andrea Huncar, CBC News,  June 27, 2017

Critics are calling for an Alberta-wide ban on street checks as a CBC News investigation reveals Edmonton police have been disproportionately stopping, questioning and documenting Aboriginal and black people in non-criminal encounters.

Coroner calls in outside police force to investigate waterway Thunder Bay deaths of Begg, Keeash

APTN National News,  June 22, 2017

An Ontario regional police force is stepping in to help investigate the deaths of two Indigenous youth found in Thunder Bay’s waterways last month.

The Chief Coroner of Ontario Dirk Huyer has asked York Regional Police Service to step in and work with the Thunder Bay police to investigate the deaths of Josiah Begg, 14, and Tammy Keeash, 17. Begg was found dead in the McIntyre River on May 18 and Keeash was found in the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway on May 7.

Vancouver cop helps fellow officers understand Indigenous culture

Steve Hanuse claims not all cops are violent or racist… never addresses the claim that “All Cops are Bastards.”

By Liam Britten and Angela Sterritt, CBC News, June 21, 2017

The first time Vancouver cop Steve Hanuse had to stand up and speak at a community forum, it brought back bad memories.

Hanuse, an Indigenous officer, was asked by his superiors at the Vancouver Police Department to speak at a 1998 forum reaching out to the city’s Indigenous communities, who were furious over the recent death of Frank Paul.

Report submitted to Ottawa highlights police abuse against Indigenous women

Sheila Tataquason, right, with supporters outside the provincial courthouse on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. She is suing Saskatoon police for damages she suffered when she was attacked by a police dog and arrested for a crime she didn’t commit. Greg Pender / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

by Tavia Grant, The Globe and Mail, June 19, 2017

Degrading strip searches and groping by male officers. Slamming a woman’s head on the sidewalk during an arrest. Unwillingness to report crimes due to fears of police harassment. Threats. Intimidation. Racial discrimination. Fears of retaliation.

These are just some of the accounts in a Human Rights Watch submission to the federal government to be released Monday that focuses on police treatment of Indigenous women in Saskatchewan. The organization documented 64 alleged cases, since 2014, of police abuse against aboriginal women in the province.

‘Angst’ over police in Thunder Bay, Ont., ‘diminishes’ Canada: Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale

Policing is a provincial and municipal responsibility but feds are ready to step in if asked, Goodale says

CBC News, June 13, 2017

Canada’s Minister of Public Safety says he’s concerned Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, Ont., appear to have lost faith in the city’s police service.

Ralph Goodale said the federal government is willing to respond to a request for help with policing the city, but he said that request must come from the municipality and the province to abide by jurisdictional protocols.

Rosebud Sioux Tribal Citizen Killed by Omaha Police Taser

Zachary Bearheels. Photo from GoFund Me.

by Levi Rickert, Native News Online, June 12, 2017

OMAHA — Zachary Bearheels, a tribal citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, died after being hit with 12 direct shots from a police Taser in Omaha, Nebraska early last Monday morning.

Bearheels was on his way to Oklahoma when he was kicked off an interstate bus in Omaha on Saturday, June 3, 2017. Bearheels, who suffered from bi-polar and  schizophrenia, was not allowed back on the bus because of his behavior after another bus passenger complained to the bus driver.

Winnipeg Transit gave Peggo card travel history to police without warrants

The Peggo card system allows bus officials to track the exact daily travel habits of thousands of passengers. (CBC News )

City officials confirm police requested data 4 times since March

By Jacques Marcoux, CBC News, June 7, 2017

Winnipeg Transit has handed over the private travel history of bus riders to law enforcement without requiring a warrant, CBC News has learned.

City officials confirmed that on four occasions since March of 2017, Winnipeg police have requested the data generated through the use of Peggo cards for a specific passenger to assist with an investigation.

Torching of RCMP SUV in Innu community draws local online praise

by Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, May 31, 2017

A 29 year-old man was arrested in the Labrador Innu First Nation of Natuashish following the torching of an RCMP vehicle Tuesday evening that was praised on social media.

Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP did not immediately release the arrested man’s name. RCMP Cpl. Trevor O’Keefe said the man was in custody, but had not been officially charged.

Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock to “Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies”

Police arrest a protester against the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannonball, North Dakota, December 2016.

by Alleen Brown, Will Parrish, and Alice Speri, The Intercept, May 27, 2017

A shadowy international mercenary and security firm known as TigerSwan targeted the movement opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline with military-style counterterrorism measures, collaborating closely with police in at least five states, according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept. The documents provide the first detailed picture of how TigerSwan, which originated as a U.S. military and State Department contractor helping to execute the global war on terror, worked at the behest of its client Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline, to respond to the indigenous-led movement that sought to stop the project.

Rear admiral apologizes to Indigenous recruits for sailor’s ‘war cry’ insult

Aboriginal recruits are given a tour of HMCS Fredericton. (Canadian Armed Forces)

Member of HMCS Fredericton taunted Aboriginal recruits during an introductory training program

By Elizabeth Chiu, CBC News, May 26, 2017

The head of the Royal Canadian Navy on the East Coast apologized Friday to a group of Indigenous military recruits who were offended by a “war cry” a sailor made on board HMCS Fredericton earlier this month in Halifax.