And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified)
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>Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 08:35:18 -0500
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Ipperwash coverup "no evidence" excessive force by police
>
>Friday, February 12, 1999
>
> Report exonerates Ontario
> police in Ipperwash arrest
> It's a cover-up, Natives Say
>
> Stewart Bell
> National Post
>
> An independent investigation has found no evidence that
>police used
> excessive force on a man who claimed he was the victim
>of a
> Rodney King-style beating during a violent 1995 native
>rights
> protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park in Southern
Ontario.
>
> The director of the Special Investigations Unit, which
>probes
> complaints of police misconduct in Ontario, told a news
>conference
> yesterday there was no "credible and reliable" proof to
>support
> criminal charges against any of the Ontario Provincial
>Police officers
> involved.
>
> Although the evidence "firmly establishes" that Cecil
>Bernard
> George was repeatedly struck by Ontario Provincial
>Police officers
> during his arrest, "the available evidence does not
>support the
> conclusion that the officers exceeded the level of
>force permitted
> under the Criminal Code," Peter Tinsley said.
>
> Mr. Tinsley also said he was unable to determine the
>identity of the
> officers responsible -- despite an 18-month
>investigation and the
> fact the tussle was witnessed by several police
>officers. Mr.
> George's injuries were so severe an ambulance attendant
>said his
> vital signs stopped during the trip to hospital.
>
> The Chiefs of Ontario labelled the report "outrageous"
>and called
> for a public inquiry. "It smells like a cover-up to
>me," said Chief
> Tom Bressette, the province's top native leader. The
>Kettle and
> Stony Point First Nation, to which Mr. George belongs,
>called the
> report "devoid of justice."
>
> Natives occupied Ipperwash park in September, 1995, to
>protest
> what they called the destruction of a burial site and a
>delay in the
> return of the land, part of an 1827 Chippewa treaty, to
>tribal
> control. On the night of Sept. 6, the protest turned
>violent and Mr.
> George, a band councillor, claims police kicked and
>beat him after
> he fell to the ground. That same night a police
>tactical team shot and
> killed protester Dudley George.
>
> The killing made a martyr of Dudley George among
>aboriginal rights
> crusaders. A coalition was formed to lobby for a public
>inquiry and
> police and government handling of the standoff
>continues to be a
> sore point among many natives, uttered in the same
>breath as Oka
> and Gustafsen Lake.
>
> The Special Investigations Unit, a civilian-led agency,
>began
> investigating the incident the next day. Acting
>Sergeant Kenneth
> Deane was charged with, and eventually convicted of,
>criminal
> negligence causing death. But no charges were laid
>against police in
> relation to the treatment of Cecil Bernard George.
>
> The case was reopened in June, 1997, at the request of
the
> commissioner of the OPP, after both the former director
>of the SIU
> and a trial judge commented that police appeared to
>have used
> excessive force. The investigation examined the conduct
>of six
> officers, who Mr. Tinsley said were co-operative. Mr.
>Tinsley
> handed his report to Ontario's attorney-general on
>Monday.
>
> He met with Mr. George and the Kettle and Stony Point
band
> leadership yesterday. He described Mr. George's
>response to the
> report as "somewhat philosophical."
>
> Asked by reporters why there was insufficient evidence
>for charges,
> Mr. Tinsley said the officers were responding to an
>agressive crowd
> of protesters, and some of Mr. George's injuries may
>have been the
> result of incidents prior to his arrest. He also said
>the identity of the
> OPP officers involved could not be verified because
>flashlights and
> spotlights impeded some witnesses' vision; police were
>wearing face
> visors ; and there was general confusion.
>
> Related Sites
>
> Ontario Provincial Police
>
> The Police Attack on Indigenous Resisters at Stoney Point
> (Aazhoodena)
> A indigenous sovereignty page on the incidents at
>Ipperwash.
>
> Dudley George
> A petition and newsbrief arguing for a review of police
>actions that
> led to the killing of Dudley George at Ipperwash.
>
>
>
> < the more we do to you, the less you
> seem to believe we are doing it >
> Mengele
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> www.aches-mc.org
>
>
>
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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