Vancouver police, First Nation ties have ‘broken down’ since settlement: review

VANCOUVER- A review of a “landmark” agreement between Vancouver Police and a B.C. First Nation says the relationship has “broken down” and the way to move forward is to respect the nation’s laws. B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender says in her review that agreement between the police board, the family of Maxwell Johnson and the Heiltsuk Nation showed “significant shortcomings” in implementing the deal reached in 2022. The agreement came after police wrongly detained Johnson, a Heiltsuk Nation artist, and his then-12-year-old granddaughter, who were both handcuffed by police after they tried to open an account for the girl at a Vancouver bank. The nation cancelled an apology ceremony in October 2022 after the arresting officers failed to show up, which Johnson said limited the community’s ability to heal from…

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