EDMONTON -- Athabasca-Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam released a statement on Sunday in response to the news that the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team would be investigating his claim that he was beaten by RCMP officers.
The statement reads as follows:
"The response to this unprovoked, violent assault on an indigenous person and community leader by the RCMP requires much more than an ASIRT investigation. While it is good that the ASIRT has reversed its previous decision and has committed to an investigation, this alone is not enough.
Crown counsel must immediately release the police video of the assault so the public can make up its own mind about what happened.
The RCMP must immediately suspend without pay the involved officers and investigate them for criminal harassment and assault.
Until these things happen, we will not be quiet. We will not negotiate with the state while its knee is pressed to the back of our neck."
Adam said he was injured during an altercation with officers in the parking lot of a Fort McMurray casino in March.
Police said they stopped his vehicle because of an expired plate, and a confrontation occurred.
RCMP said Adam resisted arrest, which caused the officers to use force.
Adam is facing charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
Police made the decision to turn the investigation over to ASIRT after discussing it with the province’s director of law enforcement and the solicitor general’s office.
ASIRT’s mandate is to investigate the use of force by police officers in Alberta, incidents that result in serious injuries or death, or are serious or sensitive in nature.
