NWT RCMP reviewing Tsiigehtchic arrest that injured man’s leg

NWT RCMP say they are internally reviewing the arrest of an Indigenous man earlier this month that resulted in an injury to one of his legs.

RCMP told Cabin Radio officers arrested Brian Blake-MacLeod in Tsiigehtchic near the ferry landing on October 9, after receiving a report of an alleged assault with a weapon.

Police assert that while officers told the suspect to surrender multiple times, he refused to comply and started to walk toward them.

“Due to the volatile situation and the potential threat of a weapon,” RCMP said, officers deployed “a system used to fire non-lethal projectiles.”

“The nature of police work is inherently dynamic and rapidly evolving. RCMP officers must select appropriate option to control situations, based on the totality of the situation,” the RCMP stated.

“Based on information gathered throughout their intervention, the officers had reason to believe that [the suspect] was armed and dangerous.”

Police charged Blake-McLeod with assault, assault with a weapon, resisting police and possessing a rifle without a licence.

Officers took Blake-MacLeod to the health centre in Fort McPherson to “assess an injury to a leg,” RCMP said, and he was later transferred to the Inuvik Regional Hospital for treatment.

RCMP said they launched the internal review to “ensure process and policy” were followed during the arrest, “given that the actions of the responding officers resulted in an injury.”

People ‘should be safe in police custody’

A family member of Blake-MacLeod, who asked that they not be identified, said they were told his leg was broken in two places as a result of the arrest. They said he requires surgery and expressed concern that he had not been sent to Edmonton, nor spoken with a surgeon.

The family member said they have not been able to contact Blake-MacLeod since his arrest.

Appearing in court by video on Monday, Blake-MacLeod was wearing a leg cast.

“When someone is arrested, they should be safe in police custody, but that’s not the case,” his family member said, pointing to a recent case in which two officers in Yellowknife were charged with causing death by criminal negligence in connection with the death of an Indigenous man while in custody last year.

“They take it too far,” the family member said of some officers’ conduct.

In another case, police broke an Indigenous man’s leg in Fort Good Hope after hitting and running over him with a truck in 2023. While RCMP determined officers used appropriate force in the arrest, a judge ruled that police had violated the man’s Charter rights by using excessive force.

NWT RCMP say reconciliation is priority

The RCMP has a long and troubled history with Indigenous peoples in Canada and the North, including playing a role in the culling of sled dogs and removing children from their families and communities to attend residential schools. 

A $600-million class action launched in 2018 and certified in June 2021 alleges Inuit, Métis and First Nations people are regularly assaulted by RCMP officers in the three territories because they are Indigenous. According to federal court documents filed last week, the case is currently proceeding through discovery, a pre-trial phase in which parties exchange evidence and information.

Nationally, the RCMP has acknowledged systemic racism exists in the force. NWT RCMP told Cabin Radio reconciliation is a priority and all employees are required to take Indigenous and cultural training.

Earlier this year, RCMP announced they were expanding an initiative to collect, analyze and report race-based data on police interactions to Yellowknife. The Race-Based Collection Initiative aims to help RCMP better understand policing outcomes for Indigenous, Black and other racialized people, as well as identify and address systemic racism within policing.

Responding to questions in the legislature on Wednesday about strengthening the relationship between NWT communities and RCMP, justice minister Jay Macdonald said the force has a “comprehensive plan” to ensure officers receive cultural training that “integrates them into whichever community they may be residing in.”

Macdonald said there has been “a push” to ensure training is completed in a timely manner.

He added an Indigenous advisory council regularly meets with NWT RCMP’s commanding officer.

Cody Punter contributed reporting.