Some Nunavik residents complain of police aggression

Aileen MacKinnon, the chief of the Kativik Regional Police Force, says she can help citizens with any complaints of misconduct by members of the police force. (FILE PHOTO)

KANGIQSUJUAQ – Some community leaders in Nunavik say police aggression is a growing problem and that it’s not being reported.

Delegates at the recent annual general meeting of Makivik Corp. mentioned a growing concern over Inuit who have been beaten by officers of the Kativik Regional Police Force.

Noah Tayara, the Makivik board member for Salluit, said he knows of more than one incident where a person was hit by a police officer. Too often, he said, incidents like these not reported.

“Inuit are being place in dangerous situations by police misconduct,” Tayara said. “This is not being reported and this is a concern in our community.”

Tayara said one Salluit resident lost his teeth in a recent altercation with an officer.

Parsa Kitisimik, a representative from Kuujjuaraapik, said there are similar concerns in that community.

“When there is police misconduct, who do we call?” she said.

Aileen MacKinnon, the chief of KRPF, said she is aware of reports of misconduct.

But there is an official process for Nunavimmiut to follow if they feel they have been mistreated in any way, she said.

“We take these events very seriously,” she said, adding that reports are always investigated. “Often, we’ll ask for assistance so we don’t investigate our own officers – for transparency reasons.”

“And we act quickly because it’s our top priority.”

Residents who feel like they’ve been treated unfairly by a police officer — typically in non-violent cases — can fill out a report that is forwarded to Quebec’s ethics commissioner, who then investigates the matter.

Information on how to file a report is posted in each village’s police station or its employment and training office, MacKinnon said, so residents have an alternative place to go if they are not comfortable approaching the officers stationed in their community.

In more serious cases, like when a citizen reports they were beaten by an officer, MacKinnon said Nunavimmiut should contact the KRPF head office directly.

From there, the matter is usually forwarded to the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force to investigate.

“I would suggest that people call me, anytime,” MacKinnon said. “I will take the information and we’ll go from there.”

People can also call any of the three police captains in the region, stationed in Puvirnituq, Salluit and Kuujjuaq.

In 2009, 19 complaints were filed to Quebec’s ethics commissioner and all were investigated, MacKinnon said. Of that number, 17 were “refused” or found unwarranted, while two are going through an arbitration process.

MacKinnon didn’t have precise statistics for the more serious reports, but she estimated that about five complaints were forwarded to SQ to investigate last year, which remain pending.

But reports of misconduct are not always clear-cut. If someone reacts to an officer with aggression, MacKinnon said, an officer is allowed to use the force needed to make an arrest.

Police officers are required to follow a use of force chart, which dictates how to deal with a difficult subject, she said.

Verbal commands are low on the chart and gradually step up to “hard techniques” such as a strike or takedown.

MacKinnon said the police force is strict about its officers’ conduct across the region and will take whatever action necessary to remedy any abuse.

“I’m here for people to call me,” she said. “It’s important that our officers respect the communities that they work in.”

But some Nunavimmiut say communication with the region’s police is at the root of the problem.

Police officers sometimes get angry and beat people, said an elder delegate at the Makivik meeting.

“Our police are not Inuit and we elders cannot speak English,” he said. “We need an interpreter so we can communicate with them. It’s hard to ask for assistance.”

MacKinnon said there is always an Inuttitut speaker on hand at the head office in Kuujjuaq on weekdays.

But the organization is also looking to set up a dispatch centre on evenings and weekends to help better serve those that don’t speak English or French.

“Anyone could call this number and speak to someone in Inuttitut, who would pass their information on to the officer in their community,” she said.

KRPF staff will soon visit Iqaluit to see how a similar dispatch centre works there.

In the meantime, Nunavik police officers “do the best they can,” MacKinnon said, employing the help of relatives or local translators when there is a communication issue.

The police force is currently hiring the last of a new batch of police officers to allocate across the region, MacKinnon added, to make good on a 2009 promise to have at least three officers stationed in each community.