‘Tired’ of recommendations, Chantel Moore’s mother renews call to action on police reform | Globalnews.ca

Two years after her daughter was killed by police during a welfare check, Martha Martin is determined on her mission for justice and police reform.

The fatal shooting of Chantel Moore has “awakened a nation,” she explained, drawing attention to racism in justice and policing, and the crisis of violence against indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people.

“My daughter may have been silenced, but I will continue to be the voice for her and for each and every one who lost their life,” Martin said Monday at the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Meeting in Vancouver.

“I am so tired of hearing recommendation after recommendation and not seeing any action.”

Moore, 26, was killed by a police officer in Edmunston on June 4, 2020, after she advanced on him with a knife during a welfare check. The Tla-o-qui-aht woman had just moved from Port Alberni, BC to the northwestern city of New Brunswick to be closer to her daughter.

Last month, a jury in the New Brunswick coroner’s inquest into the shooting ruled his death a homicide. However, an investigation by the New Brunswick Police Commission had previously cleared the officer who killed her of any wrongdoing and no charges will be filed against him.

“Where do we go when the people who are supposed to help us are the ones who are killing us?” asked Chief Constance Big Eagle, president of the AFN Women’s Council, at Monday’s news conference.

AFN members will present two resolutions at the annual general meeting on Tuesday.

The first asks for support for the Moore family and the implementation of the 231 Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). The second calls for support for sustainable financing and accountability for the implementation of those calls.

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“The calls tell us that the foundation for transformative change is building the right relationships. We can’t wait for this new relationship to come five to 10 years from now,” said w̓úm̓xλaqs Louisa Housty-Jones, BC AFN women’s representative.

“Society must accept the fact that colonial systems and policies and justice are working as they were designed, as tools to help destroy the systems of government, culture and families of indigenous peoples, and to remove us from our territories. ”.

St. Mary First Nation Sakom (Chief) Allan Polchies Jr. and Oromocto First Nation Chief Shelley Sabattis joined Martin, Housty-Jones and Big Eagle in demanding substantial police reform in New Brunswick.

They called for stricter crime scene protocols, including stricter rules for handling evidence and police presence at the scene of incidents involving officers. They also asked for links to communicate with families and communities regarding indigenous peoples.

They urged the NB government, again, to launch a public inquiry into systemic racism against indigenous peoples in criminal justice and the police. Prime Minister Blaine Higgs has rejected multiple calls for such an investigation since Moore’s death, stating that existing recommendations from previous reports and investigations into discrimination against indigenous people could be implemented.

Global News has reached out to Higgs’ office for comment on this story.

Martin is raising Moore’s daughter, Gracie, who is now eight years old. She said that she wants her grandson to grow up in a world free of racism and violence.

“She hears sirens, that girl will hide under a table. Tell me that’s normal for an eight year old. If she sees a policeman, she will hide behind you. She shakes,” Martin said, through tears.

“When they say serve and protect, who do they really serve and protect? It feels like a lot of serving and protecting themselves.”

Shortly after Moore’s murder, Martin’s son, Mike Martin, 23, killed himself in police custody in Surrey, BC, in November 2020. Martin said he remains “wholeheartedly” committed to changing a failing system. repeatedly to indigenous peoples. .

“There is always a way. We are never stuck,” he said of repeated claims that large-scale police reform is too complicated or expensive to implement.

Housty-Jones echoed Martin’s comments, saying that provinces, including BC, are “rich” with reform recommendations but have little to show for it. He said police forces and governments must overcome “the institutional lack of will that leads to violence.”