The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) concluded its investigation into the forceful arrest of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam outside a Fort McMurray casino in 2020, finding no evidence of unlawful or unreasonable conduct by the RCMP. While Adam's lawyer expressed disappointment with the findings, citing video evidence of excessive force and concerns about the handling of race, ASIRT asserted that the officers acted lawfully and the investigation was thorough and objective.
Alberta’s police watchdog has concluded its investigation into the forcible arrest of an Indigenous chief that left him bloody and bruised outside a Fort McMurray casino in March, 2020, finding that there was no wrongdoing on the RCMP’s part, and nothing to suggest there was a racist element to what occurred.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said he could not comment on ASIRT’s findings because of “an agreement between myself and the RCMP.” Corporal Troy Savinkoff, an RCMP spokesman, confirmed that there was a resolved civil lawsuit between Mr. Adam and theEdmonton defence lawyer Brian Beresh, who defended Mr. Adam on charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, said he was disappointed with ASIRT’s findings.
The protracted altercation began as Mr. Adam was leaving the Boomtown Casino with his wife early on the morning of March 10, 2020, and an officer noticed the vehicle’s registration was expired. RCMP initially defended the officers’ actions, saying Mr. Adam had been resisting arrest, and members “were required to use force” to take him into custody. But a grisly photo of his bloodied face, and videos of the incident released by both Mr. Adam and the RCMP, led to widespread questioning and condemnation of police response by both Indigenous leaders and politicians.
The first officer is described in the ASIRT report as being “east-Indian,” with about four months of policing experience with the RCMP. “I did not know that the male was aboriginal before and during the intervention. In the time I had to make a decision, the ethnicity, language, social economic background or religion of the person was not considered or even digested,” that officer wrote. “Regardless, it would never influence a decision.”
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