Mother of man in Happy Valley-Goose Bay arrest video seeks justice for her son

The mother of a homeless Inuk man thrown to the ground while being arrested in Happy Valley-Goose Bay is calling for justice for her son, as the video of his arrest circulates online and an independent investigation into the incident gets underway.

In the video, a town municipal enforcement officer tosses Joseph Tugluvinafrom the front of a patrol car onto the ground, while Tugluvina was handcuffed.

"It's not right for a person to be doing that. We're all Indigenous people, we're all human, but it's not right for a person to knock my son down on the ground with handcuffs on," his mother,Nicola Jararuse, told CBC News during a rally at the Happy Valley-Goose Bay town hall on Wednesday, where about 80 people gathered to condemnthe officer's actions.

Jararusewas very emotional during the rally, and said it was hard to watch the video.

She said she knew it was her son in the video the moment she saw it. She said Tuglavina has been going through a lot since January, and she and the rest of his family have been helpless in the midst of it.

We all need to recognize systemic racism that exists about our province and do our best, especially in this legislature, to lead toward reconciling that.- Premier Andrew Furey

"We can't help him from drinking and stuff like that. He's a long way out. If he wants to go drinking and stuff we can't stop it," she said.

Jararuse said she still doesn't know exactly what happened to lead to the arrest. She, like most everyone else in the province, first sawthe incident when the video surfaced on social media.

The support shown for her family on Wednesday on the lawn of thetown hall meant a lot to her,Jararuse said.

But, she said she's sad, wonders why the aggressive takedown happened,and wants something done.

"I hope they do something to that cop right away,ASAP, because it's not right for a man to be doing that to another human being," she said.

"I'd like to see the cop put away fired or something."

Warning: This video may be disturbing to some.

Nowit'sa waiting game for Jararuse and her family.

Theofficer in the videohas been placed on administrative duty. On Wednesday, just prior to the rally, Happy Valley-Goose Bay town council had a brief special meeting, where council unanimously approved a motion to hire law firm Stewart McKelvey to contract an independent investigator to look into the arrest.

Jararuse said it will be about a week or so before she knows what investigation's outcome will be,and if there will be disciplinary action against the officer in the video.

Video 'troubling,' says premier

Earlier this week, Lake Melville MHA Perry Trimper came under fire for some of his comments about the incident.

While Trimper said he was concerned with the video, which he characterized as a "very aggressive takedown by the enforcement officer," people took issue with his use of describing people as "choosing" a risky lifestyle that is putting them and the community at risk. He acknowledged he's heard from a number of people who criticizedwhat he said.

Trimper apologized Wednesday for his phrasing, saying, "I recognize the phraseology you want to grab better words."

Premier Andrew Furey said what he saw in the video was "troubling," as well, and would be waiting to see the results of an independent investigation of the incident that is underway.

Fureysaid he spokewith Trimperon Thursday about his comments, which weremade on CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

"I found those comments troubling and the language that was selected was inappropriate. We had a long discussion about the complex nature of homelessness and the multi-layers that drive it, particularly in this instance with respect to intergenerational trauma," said Furey.

"He's made an apology. We all need to recognize systemic racism that exists about our province and do our best, especially in this legislature, to lead toward reconciling that."

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