Trudeau: Video of Violent Arrest of Canadian Aboriginal Chief Is ’Shocking’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that police dashcam video of the violent arrest of a Canadian aboriginal chief is “shocking” and said black Canadians and indigenous people do not feel safe around police.

The arrest has received attention in Canada as a backlash against racism grows worldwide in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck

The 12-minute police video shows an officer charging at Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam with his arm and elbow up as he tackles him to the ground. It also shows the officer punching him in the head.

“I have serious questions about what happened,” Trudeau said to reporters Friday. “The independent investigation must be transparent and be carried out so that we get answers. At the same time, though, we also know that this is not an isolated incident. Far too many black Canadians and indigenous people do not feel safe around police. It’s unacceptable. And as governments, we have to change that.”

Pictures show Adam was left bloodied with his face swollen. Alberta’s police watchdog agency is investigating. Police charged Adam with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police dash camera video was released publicly as part of a court application to get criminal charges against Adam removed.

The video earlier shows a different officer approaching Adam’s truck outside a casino in Fort McMurray, Alberta, early on the morning of March 10. Police have said Adam’s truck had expired plates.

The video shows Adam getting in and out of the vehicle, removing his coat and taking a karate-like stance and using expletives as he complains about being harassed by police. His wife and niece get in in between him and the officer at times.

Adam’s lawyer, Brian Beresh, has filed a court motion to have criminal charges dropped over violation of Adam’s constitutional rights.

Trudeau has said the issue of systemic racism in policing is longstanding and needs addressing.

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In This Story: Canada

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. It extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles), making it the world’s second-largest country by total area.

Its southern and western border with the United States, stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world’s longest bi-national land border. Canada’s capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Various Indigenous peoples inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years before European colonization. The Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British Parliament. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition, with a monarch and a prime minister who serves as the chair of the Cabinet and head of government.

As a highly developed country, Canada has the seventeenth-highest nominal per-capita income globally as well as the thirteenth-highest ranking in the Human Development Index. Its advanced economy is the tenth-largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks.

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