Demonstrators at Yukon RCMP headquarters protest 'police brutality'

More than 50 people gathered outside Yukon RCMP headquarters in Whitehorse this afternoonto protest what many were calling "police brutality".

The demonstration came in the wake of aviral video that showed a Yukon First Nations man being pinned to the ground and punched by an RCMP officer during an arrestlast weekend. The video was posted on Facebook and within days had been seen by nearly 850,000 people. RCMP responded by calling for a third-party investigation.

"I was actually enraged," says protester Hayley Mintz about seeing the video. "He's a good friend of mine and he's not a bad guy."

The demonstrators gathered on the lawn and sidewalk in front of the RCMP building. Some were drumming and chanting, while others stood quietly, holding placards. "Am I next?" read one sign. Another read:"No more police brutality."

"We teach our children to look to the RCMP for safety,now I have issues," says protester Jackie Bear. "I support anybody and everybody who's been hurt by the RCMP. It's just wrong."

Whitehorse RCMP Inspector Archie Thompson came out during the protest to speak to reporters. He said police respect the protesters' rights to demonstrate, and are taking their concerns very seriously.

"It's not okay to use more force than is necessary to do our duty," Thompson said. But he said it's important to allow the investigation to proceed, before drawing conclusions about the officer's conduct.

"I know our members have worked for years to build relationships, and I would hate to see one incident compromise that," Thompson said.

'Things have to change'

The man arrested in the video, Josh Skookum, is from the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation. His father, Ed Skookum, was among the protesters, along with Little Salmon Carmacks chief Eric Fairclough.

"Things have to change," Fairclough said. During the protest, he went inside the RCMP building to speak to police about the protesters' concerns. He left feeling reassured.

"I expressed that people want to see some action by the RCMP to make improvements to the relationship between them and the First Nations people," Fairclough said. "They [police] do want to work on improving relations and they want to get to the bottom of it too."

Fairclough says he was told the independent investigation into Josh Skookum's arrest would begin next week. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been called in by RCMP to lead the investigation, as an impartial third-party. In the meantime, RCMP say the arresting officer shown in the video has been reassigned to administrative duties.

A statement from ASIRT says it is working with RCMP and the Yukon government to appoint a community liaison, to act as an impartial observer to the investigation. Fairclough says he offered police the names of several possible candidates.

"There needs to be improvement here in the Yukon," Fairclough said. "Thank goodness for modern technology that can capture these things."