List of excessive police force incidents in Canada

This is a list of incidents involving alleged or proven police brutality by law enforcement in Canada.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Alberta
  • 1999: An RCMP constable in Alberta, Michael Ferguson, fatally shot Darren Varley after Varley attacked him in a jail cell. He was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, allowed to serve it under house arrest till 2006 and paroled in 2007, after two months in jail. The trial judge had decided the mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison would be cruel and unusual punishment in his case.[1] However, that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which imposed the minimum sentence of four years in prison. The Court of Appeal`s decision was upheld on further appeal to the Supreme Court.
  • July 2016: A video shot by a bystander depicts three officers punching and pulling the hair of one man while they hold him down.[2]
  • March 10, 2020: Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation was stopped by RCMP in Fort McMurray regarding an expired licence plate. Police officers accosted Adam's wife, who was driving the vehicle. Adam intervened, and was then assaulted by two officers, sustaining head injury.[3] Adam was charged for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, and was released from custody the subsequent day[4].

British Columbia
  • 1918: Dominion Police Special Constable Dan Campbell shot and killed Ginger Goodwin, a popular radical who was avoiding conscription. Protest inspired the 1918 Vancouver general strike.
  • 2007: Robert Dziekański, a Polish immigrant, was taken into police custody at Vancouver International Airport and died after being tasered a total of five times by a group of four RCMP officers. Police were heavily criticized for their handling of the incident, and the incident revived debate concerning police use of tasers in Canada. Const. Kwesi Millington, the RCMP officer who fired a Taser the night Robert Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for perjury and colluding with his fellow officers at an inquiry into the death.[5][6]
  • February 2012: Jordan Dyck, a passenger at a Vancouver SkyTrain station, was physically assaulted and pepper sprayed by two Metro Vancouver Transit Police officers. In 2015, the two officers were found guilty of assault.[7]
  • July 18, 2015: Hudson Brooks was involved in an altercation with 2 police officers and was shot 9 times and killed by constable Elizabeth Cucheran. Brooks was unarmed and clad only in boxer shorts at the time.[8]
  • In August, 2015, at least 6 Vancouver police officers attempting to restrain Myles Gray killed him. Mr Gray suffered a fractured voice box, nasal fracture, dislocated jaw, a fractured right orbital eye socket, a fractured rib, fractured sternum, hemorrhagic injury to one testicle, and multi-focal bruising to his thigh and right arm. Getting the police to co-operate in the investigation has proven difficult as a number of the involved officers have so far refused (April 2018) to provide testimony. Since there were no other witnesses other than the six officers and no body cams it has been a challenge for the family to find out what happened. The family has launched a multimillion-dollar civil suit.[9]

New Brunswick
  • June 4, 2020: Chantel Moore, a 26 year old Indigenous woman from Vancouver Island, died after being shot in New Brunswick by police. Edmundston Police Force officers were called, by Moore's boyfriend, to do a wellness check on a woman in an apartment in the city. Inspector Steve Robinson told reporters that when they arrived, she emerged with a knife and attacked an officer. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said "I'm pissed. I'm outraged ... I don't understand how someone dies during a wellness check? Police serve Canadians and Indigenous peoples of Canada — not the opposite. These independent inquires need to bring justice."[10]

Manitoba
  • 1919: in the face of major unrest during the Winnipeg General Strike, the Royal Northwest Mounted Police charged on horseback into a crowd of strikers on June 21, beating them with clubs and firing weapons.[11] This violent action resulted in many injuries and the deaths of two strikers. The day came to be known as "Bloody Saturday".[12]
  • May 22, 2014: Members of the Winnipeg Police Service arrested and detained Christopher Chastellaine, 40, after receiving a complaint that he had spit on a liquor store employee. While in the police holding cell, he headbutted a police officer who tried to confiscate his clothing for evidence. Six officers restrained, handcuffed and hooded him during the ensuing physical altercation. He became unresponsive and died of a delirium-induced heart attack in hospital on May 26. An inquest into whether officers should have taken his clothes was held.[13]
  • Aug 9, 2017: Winnipeg officers used excessive force on Richard Kakish during an arrest. Kakish later died days later due to his spleen being ruptured, broken ribs and a head injury from police kicking/punching him repeatedly. Inquest called for in 2018 to determine who is to be held accountable.[14]
  • April 9, 2020: Jason Collins was shot by Winnipeg officers at his own home, after they arrived responding to a domestic violence call. Police left the house, and 40 minutes after their initial arrival an officer shot Collins while he confronted them from his front door. [15]

Ontario
  • December 8, 1998: 17-year-old Michael Wade Lawson was shot to death by two Peel Regional Police Constables. Anthony Melaragni No. 1192 and Darren Longpre No. 1139 were both charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault after a preliminary hearing; both were later acquitted by a jury. The officers claimed that the stolen vehicle driven by Lawson was approaching the officers head-on in a threatening manner, and they then discharged their firearms. [16]An autopsy conducted by the Ontario Coroner's Office showed that the unarmed teenager was struck by a hollow-point bullet to the back of the head. This type of bullet was considered illegal at the time, as hollow-point bullets were not authorized for use by police officers in Ontario.[17]
  • 2009: Two police detectives got into a fight with members of the Khan family in Toronto. They brought an action against the family for assault, but the judge acquitted the Khans in 2013, stating that the officers had used excessive force and fabricated evidence.[18]
  • 2010: Mass protests at the G-20 Toronto summit turned violent on June 26 when some demonstrators, used black bloc tactics, leading to widespread property damage. Tear gas was used for the first time in the history of Toronto,[19] being deployed in a few locations by muzzle blasts. Rubber bullets and pepper spray were also used against many protesters.[20][21] Three protestors were confirmed by the Toronto EMS to be injured during the protests,[22] and journalists were among the people who were beaten.[23][24] Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani, the Toronto police officer accused of using excessive force during the arrest of G20 protester Adam Nobody, has been convicted of assault with a weapon for his role.[25]
  • November 2010: In Barrie, a man was beaten by a police officer outside a mall. The beating was captured on surveillance camera, and occurred after the victim's friend broke a Christmas ornament. The officer was found guilty of assault, obstruction of justice, and fabricating evidence, and was sentenced to one year in jail and one year of probation.[26][27]
  • January 15, 2011: A man was stopped by police, punched in the face twice, and had his pockets searched by a Toronto police officer. The victim sued Toronto Police Service for assault, battery, unlawful arrest, and violation of his Charter rights. In 2015, Justice Frederick Myers awarded the victim $27,000, and stated that he, a man of African descent, was racially profiled by the officer.[28]
  • July 27, 2013: Sammy Yatim was shot eight times and killed by Toronto Police officer James Forcillo, after he brandished a knife on an empty streetcar. In 2016, Forcillo was found guilty of attempted murder and not guilty of murder.
  • July 2016: Abdirahman Abdi died while being arrested by the Ottawa Police. Witnesses claim he was struck in the head with batons, pepper sprayed, and wrestled to the ground. The officer was charged in 2017 with manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.[29]
  • July 2017: Toronto Police officer Constable Michael Theriault was charged with assault for the December 2016 beating of Dafonte Miller, a 19-year old Black male, with a pipe that led to removal of his eye. Christian Theriault, the brother of the police officer was also charged in the assault. John Theriault, is father to Michael and Christian Theriault and is a detective with a 30-year career with Toronto Police and a part of the professional standards unit, tasked with officer misconduct. Durham Region Police did not report the incident to the Special Investigations Unit contrary to the provincial Police Services Act.[30]
  • May 27, 2020: Toronto Police were called to assist Regis Korchinski-Paquet after a domestic conflict with a request to take her to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Family members state that Korchinski-Paquet was also experiencing epileptic seizures [31]. Korchinski-Paquet told officers she needed to use the bathroom and was followed into the apartment by multiple officers, who would not allow entry by other family members. Korchinski-Paquet's mother and brother reportedly heard her calling for help before silence. An officer reportedly then came out and knocked on the neighbour's apartment door and told them that Korchinski-Paquet was either in the neighbouring unit or the one a floor below. Later the officers stated that Korchinski-Paquet had fallen off the balcony while in their care. After public protest, this incident is currently under investigation by the SIU. Korchinski-Paquet's mother and her hired lawyer later retracted the previous statement that she witnessed her daughter's alleged murder. Toronto Police have since obtained the statement of another witness, as well as security camera footage of the balcony, and are currently evaluating the circumstances of Korchinski-Paquet's death. [32]

Saskatchewan
  • c. 1976 – c. 2000: Members of the Saskatoon Police Service engaged in what have been called "starlight tours", where officers would take an Indigenous person to the edge of the city in the dead of winter and abandon them there with little to no clothing.[33] The earliest known case happened in 1976[34] and the latest known case happened in 2000[35].

See also

References
  1. ""Killer officer walks free", by The Calgary Herald". Archived from the original on June 29, 2015.
  2. "'If they are saying this guy deserved that? Not a chance,' says eyewitness to Calgary police altercation - CBC News".
  3. "Ministers concerned by brutality claims during Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam's arrest". Global News. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  4. "Northern Alberta First Nations chief alleges he was beaten by RCMP". Global News. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  5. "Mother of son killed by Taser 'so happy' RCMP officer will get prison time for perjury - CBC News".
  6. Inquiry into Dziekanski's Taser-related death resumes Monday CBC.ca March 22, 2009.
  7. Transit cops Bruce Shipley, Alfred Wong guilty in assault of Jordan Dyck, CBC News, May 29, 2015.
  8. https://www.peacearchnews.com/news/charges-dropped-against-officer-who-shot-and-killed-hudson-brooks-in-south-surrey/
  9. https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/bc-police-watchdog-petitions-court-lists-injuries-sustained-by-myles-gray
  10. "B.C. woman shot dead during police wellness check had just made fresh start to be with her child, family says". cbc.ca. June 4, 2020.
  11. Francis, Daniel (1984). "1919: The Winnipeg General Strike". History Today. 38: 4–8.
  12. Bloody Saturday, CBC Television documentary
  13. "Manitoba inquest questions seizure of clothing from man who died in custody". CBC. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  14. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/inquest-death-richard-kakish-1.4909301. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. Hatherly, Diana (April 11, 2020). "Family of man fatally shot by Winnipeg police says he overcame 'troubled past' to care for kids". CBC.
  16. Rosella, Louie (2015-07-09). "50TH ANNIVERSARY: Black teen killed by two white cops in 1988". Mississauga.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  17. "ANTI_ BLACK RACISM IN CANADA". web.archive.org. 2006-05-05. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  18. Judge Slams Police, Acquits Family Of Assault, Huffington Post, 2013-10-23
  19. Kenneth Kidd (2010-06-27). "Tear gas fired in downtown rampage". Toronto: thestar.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  20. "G20 — Toronto 2010". Thestar.blogs.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  21. the CNN Wire Staff (2010-06-27). "G8 criticizes North Korea, Iran in final statement". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  22. "Toronto G20 protest turns violent, city venues in lockdown". Digitaljournal.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  23. Goodyear, Sheena (June 27, 2010). "Canadian journalist arrested, reportedly beaten". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  24. "Police beat journalist covering G20: report". CBC News. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  25. Hasham, Alyshah (September 12, 2013). "G20 assault trial: Guilty verdict for officer who hit Adam Nobody". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  26. Barrie police officer guilty of assault in beating at mall, CBC News, June 21, 2013.
  27. Shopping mall assault lands officer a 1 year sentence, CBC News, a October 17, 2013.
  28. "Judge Awards $27,000 To Man Beaten In Police Carding Incident". CBC News. May 12, 2015.
  29. "Witness describes fatal confrontation between Abdirahman Abdi and police". CBC News. July 26, 2016.
  30. "Internal report on Dafonte Miller police assault leaves 'unanswered questions,' Mayor Tory says". Toronto Star. July 25, 2017.
  31. "Thousands rally in Toronto after death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet". Global News. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  32. "Surveillance video secured in Regis Korchinski-Paquet death investigation: Ontario's police watchdog". Global News. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  33. Brass, Mervin (2004-07-02). "Starlight Tours". cbc.ca. CBC News Online. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  34. "Saskatoon police chief admits starlight cruises are not new". Windspeaker. Aboriginal Multimedia Society of Alberta. July 1, 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  35. Brown, DeNeen L. (November 22, 2003). "Left for dead in a Saskatchewan winter". MSN. SASKATOON, Saskatchewan. Archived from the original on September 15, 2005. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
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