A media scrum with Police Chief Troy Hagen on Thursday. Photo courtesy @reginapolice on Twitter.
Regina’s police chief has apologized to an aboriginal man who was mistaken for a suspected television thief.
The Saskatchewan Public Complaints Commission (PCC) investigated the incident, involving Simon Ash Moccasin, after he alleged that police mistreated him when they picked him for suspicion of theft in December of 2014. The ruled Simon Ash-Moccasin was a victim.
He was walking in the downtown area when a police officer forcibly handcuffed him and put him into a cruiser.
The officer believed Ash-Moccasin matched the description of a man they were looking for. The PCC says beyond being aboriginal, he did not match the suspect description, nor did he have a TV with him. Despite that Ash-Moccasin says he was thrown against a wall, handcuffed and hauled away in a police cruiser.
The complaints commission found no grounds for arrest, and further that police used excessive force, said Ash-Moccasin’s lawyer Larry Kowalchuk.
“The investigation by the public complaints commission confirmed Simon’s version of what happened as accurate and factual. In other words, he was assaulted and mistreated by the police,” he said.
Kowalchuk said he is hoping the findings result in changes to police policy, and a sincere and unqualified apology from the police chief.
On Thursday afternoon, Police Chief Troy Hagen confirmed he has apologized to Ash-Moccasin.
“We’re accepting responsibility; I am as chief. I’ve apologized to the complainant in this matter and you know, I think the citizen should be comforted by the fact that we’ve take this seriously,” he said.
“We’re accountable when we do make mistakes. I’m being accountable today.”
Hagen accepts the PCC’s findings, but said the officers will not be disciplined.
“It was considered obviously, but under the circumstances I believed it was more of a training deficiency which is consistent with the findings of the public complaints commission whereby they acknowledged that the officers were acting in good faith,” Hagen said.
Kowalchuk said his client is considering pursuing the matter with the human rights commission. A lawsuit has also not been ruled out.