At around 8 p.m. Atlantic time RCMP officers in Red Bank, New Brunswick shot and killed a Mi’kmaq man, identified by friends on social media as Rodney Levi. According to the police account he was tased repeatedly and then shot. Quebec’s BEI to investigate. bei.gouv.qc.ca/actualites/det…
This is the second Indigenous person killed by the RCMP in New Brunswick in eight days. I have no words.
For those who don’t read French, a summary of the police account released by the BEI. Keep in mind police accounts are often found to be inaccurate. 1. RCMP officers notified of disturbed individual with knife. 2. Tracked him to building, used taser several times without success.
3. The man allegedly “continued his charge” at police officers. 4. One of the officers fired and hit the man. 5. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. This was around 8 p.m. tonight Atlantic time.
Here's my full report on this story. After attempting to tase #RodneyLevi multiple times, RCMP officers shot and killed the Mi’kmaq man tonight. Anger is boiling over in his community, and on social media. “I'm so mad and sad, I don't know what to think.” ricochet.media/en/3181/rcmp-s…
To clarify the second tweet in this thread: Although there are reports that say Chantel Moore was killed by the RCMP, I believe she was killed by the Edmundston Police Department. So the second police killing of an Indigenous person in New Brunswick in the past eight days.
As I mention in the article, four Indigenous groups sent an open letter to Liberal minister @MarcMillerVM Wednesday calling for action on "extraordinary police violence towards Indigenous people." As of Friday, only response they'd gotten was a form letter acknowledging receipt.
@MarcMillerVM Quebec's BEI has investigated 126 cases since it was founded in 2016, including 71 where someone died. These 126 investigations have led to zero criminal charges against a police officer. cbc.ca/news/canada/mo…
@MarcMillerVM My article is updated with a release that was just issued by the New Brunswick RCMP. This release alleges #RodneyLevi was armed with "knives" plural. Last night's release from the BEI referred to a knife, singular. ricochet.media/en/3181/rcmp-s…
@MarcMillerVM Levi is the ninth Indigenous person killed by police in Canada since early April.
One point regarding the first tweet in this thread. It’s been brought to my attention that Red Bank is an outdated name. This happened in the Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation, and the closest population centre is Miramichi, New Brunswick.
