B.C. band furious over pepper spray incident
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 3, 2007 | 12:09 PM PT
CBC News
Several aboriginal parents in a town northwest of Vancouver plan to file a complaint with the RCMP after a community celebration ended in pepper spray use and a confrontation with officers.
It all happened Monday night in Sechelt, B.C., after the Sechelt band's two youth teams won first prize at a soccer tournament in Vancouver.
Shannon Phillips said the RCMP pepper sprayed her and her baby Kaden.
(CBC)
The parents said it is a community tradition to celebrate with a grand entrance by honking horns.
RCMP Const. Annie Linteau said Tuesday police saw 10 youths standing in the back of a pickup truck, and tried to stop the vehicle.
She said when the driver finally stopped, he approached the officers in a hostile manner. In addition, a crowd of 50 to 75 people quickly became confrontational.
"Here they are dealing with a combative suspect who is yet to be handcuffed, yet to be in a controlled environment like the police car," Linteau said. "Meanwhile they have a crowd obstructing them in their duties and becoming combative themselves."
Shannon Phillips said she was carrying her baby and tried to intervene on behalf of her husband, Troy Myers, who was the driver of the pickup truck.
"They pepper sprayed him and when I went to say, 'What are you doing?' they turned around and pepper sprayed me and Kaden — quite a few times, actually."
Calvin Craigan, a former chief with the Sechelt band, told CBC Radio Tuesday that band members are "going to have a session with the RCMP" and demand an explanation.
"We feel it's very disappointing that they would take this kind of action at this point in time when we've built a really good relationship with our community over the last 30 years," Craigan said.
While home video cameras rolled, people started screaming at the officers, who responded with more pepper spray.
In all, 15 adults and children, including two under two years old, were treated at St. Mary's Hospital for exposure to pepper spray. All were released.
At an emergency meeting Monday night, the community vowed to proceed with a complaint, saying the officers overreacted and showed no respect for a community tradition.
A 42-year-old was in custody facing several charges.
