Members of the Williams Lake First Nation and Union of BC Indian Chiefs are calling for an independent, public, investigation into police involvement in the death of a Nation member.
36 year-old Rojun Alphonse took his own life on the morning of July 11th, after a family member had notified the RCMP that he was contemplating doing so.
Police reports say they then established a perimetre around the home, and called in an Emergency Response Team negotiator.
But, the Nation says that report fails to mention the tear gas cannisters that officers lobbed into the home through a window they had smashed.
During a joint press conference today, Williams Lake First Nation Chief Willie Sellars says it was this police action that led to Alphonse taking his life.
He says that a heavily armed police response, featuring tear gas, is never the way to respond to a situation where someone is threatening suicide.
While Sellars says the issue is not an Indigenous specific one, he did question whether the response would have been the same if Alphonse was not Indigenous.
Now, both the Nation and UBCIC are calling for an expanded investigation into the incident, beyond one already being conducted by the Independent Investigations Office.
Last Monday, the IIO announced they would be conducting an investigation to determine the role police played in Alphonse’s death.
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