‘Overdue’: First Nations Man Arrested by Vancouver Police Welcomes Revised Handcuff Policy – BC | The Canadian News

Vancouver Police will make a permanent interim change to his policy of handcuffs, sparked by the controversial arrest of a First Nations man and his granddaughter at a local bank two years ago.

The Vancouver Police Board approved the update on Thursday and it will go into effect on Friday.

It provides greater clarity on the conditions under which officers can handcuff civilians, particularly those belonging to a “group deserving of fairness.”

“I’m glad it’s being done and I hope it’s being applied correctly,” said Maxwell Johnson, who was arrested with 12-year-old Tori-Anne at a Vancouver Bank of Montreal branch on December 20, 2019.

“I think it’s late for First Nations people and other people of color … I hope all Vancouver police officers abide by this new rule.”

The policy requires that handcuffs be “objectively reasonable in all circumstances”, proportionate to the risk and necessary to serve a “legitimate police objective”.

Officers should also try to maintain “the dignity of the detained person” whenever possible.

The Vancouver Police Board first released a review of the department’s handcuff protocols in January last year after Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed while trying to open a bank account.

Suspecting fraud, a BMO staff member called 911 and police handcuffed and detained the couple, who are members of the Heiltsuk First Nation in Bella Bella, BC.

They were released at the scene when Vancouver police determined that no criminal activity had occurred.

Johnson then filed a complaint with the British Columbia Human Rights Court last year, alleging race discrimination by the bank and racial discrimination by police that led to their wives and arrests.

At that time, the VPD issued a statement calling the circumstances “regrettable” and understandably traumatic for the family.

On Thursday, the police also pledged to increase anti-racism training within the service.

“If they’re going to do training like that, I think they should be educated about residential schools and what people went through there,” Johnson told Global News.

“It shouldn’t just be about whether or not to handcuff a First Nations person, or any other person of color.”

Thursday’s decision marks the first major update to the police service’s handcuff policy since 2007.

The policy states that officers have the discretion to restrain a person, even when they have the legal authority to do so.

When exercising their decision, they must consider equity, diversity, inclusion and dignity, considering factors such as medical condition, age, ability, size and whether the person is indigenous, racialized or is part of another “group that deserves fairness. “

Johnson said he is still waiting to hear from the BC Human Rights Court about his complaint.

Nor has he heard from the province’s police watchdog, which ordered an investigation into the arrest and handcuffs of him and his granddaughter.

Since the high-profile incident in 2019, he said he and his family have had their “ups and downs.”

“I have my bad days with it, and my granddaughter started to get depressed and distressed a year after what happened to us,” she said.

Tori-Anne has sought treatment, she added, and is improving.

In a written statement, the Vancouver Police Board said the revised handcuff policy was approved as “interim.” A final policy will be approved when the police watchdog’s investigations into the incident and the BC Human Rights Court complaint are resolved.

Final policy would consider any recommendation from your findings.

Heiltsuk First Nation Chief Marilyn Slett said Thursday that her community and other affected people should be consulted when the time comes.