'Violent protest' targets police in Pikangikum First Nation

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'Violent protest' targets police in Pikangikum First Nation

Postby Thomas » Mon Jun 29, 2015 3:39 pm

OPP say protest prompted by stun gun arrest

The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a protest on Saturday that destroyed three police vehicles and left officers barricaded inside their detachment in Pikangikum, a northern Ontario First Nation of roughly 2,400 people.

A small protest began on Saturday after a Pikangikum Police officer used a stun gun while arresting a community member, OPP Sgt. Peter Leon said.

"What began as a peaceful protest, very quickly evolved into a violent protest against police," Leon said, adding that numbers rose from 20 to 200 protestors before calm was restored.

Protesters threw rocks, causing "extensive damage" to the two-storey police detachment and "leaving officers in a situation where they had to take up fortification" on the second floor, Leon said.

OPP will not say how many officers were in the building while the protest was underway.

By the time back-up arrived on Saturday evening, community members were already de-escalating the situation, Leon said.

OPP are now investigating the incident as a criminal matter and working with the community leadership to maintain their positive working relationship, he said.

Pikangikum Police are local First Nation officers, working under the Aboriginal policing program, administered by the OPP. OPP officers fly into the community for short postings and stay at the police detachment, working alongside the local officers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-b ... -1.3131898
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200 people riot in Pikangikum

Postby Thomas » Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:31 am

200 people riot in Pikangikum; police vehicles and headquarters damaged

PIKANGIKUM FIRST NATION, Ont. – Three police vehicles and the remote reserve's police building were damaged during a violent protest following an officer's altercation with a community member.

About 200 members of Pikangikum First Nation demonstrated outside the community’s police headquarters on Saturday.

OPP Sgt. Peter Leon confirmed the incident began when a Pikangikum Police officer used a stun gun on an individual who was interfering with an investigation.

“Later that day a group of community members who were upset with the actions of this officer began what was a peaceful protest out front of the Pikangikum police service building,” he said.

“That process escalated with additional people coming to that location, with upwards of 200 people did congregate and the protest became violent.”

Officers were forced to barricade themselves inside the building.

OPP officers from the Red Lake detachment were called in to provide assistance and support. Pikangikum is about 100 kilometres north of Red Lake.

Leon said additional resources were called in, though he would not provide details about which units were deployed. He described the police response as “appropriate and measured.”

“We are very fortunate and happy members of the community intervened and were able to begin the de-escalation process as police also began arriving to assist,” Leon said.

An investigation is being conducted by the OPP, though the probe is still in the early stages. Nobody has been arrested or charged.

No injuries were reported as a result of the initial incident or the subsequent protest.

Altercations with police are nothing new in Pikangikum, where the community has twice evicted the entire contingent of their OPP detachments.

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/News/372767/ ... rs_damaged
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Pikangikum riot destroyed 3 police vehicles

Postby Thomas » Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:33 am

Pikangikum riot destroyed 3 police vehicles, trashed first floor of police detachment: OPP

PIKANGIKUM First Nation, Ont.—The Ontario Provincial Police is investigating a riot that left the first floor of the Pikangikum First Nation police detachment trashed and destroyed three police vehicles on Saturday.

OPP Sgt. Peter Leon said about 200 people surrounded the Pikangikum First Nation police detachment and entered the first floor of the building, trapping three police officers—two OPP and one from the Pikangikum police—who fled to the second floor of the building which has living quarters and a kitchen.

The crowd threw rocks at the building before entering the detachment where people trashed equipment and sprayed the contents of a fire extinguisher, said Leon. The crowd also damaged the three police vehicles beyond repair, he said.

Leon said the crowed was calmed by community members who then allowed OPP officers who came in from Red Lake, Ont., to secure the area.

A fly-in First Nation, Pikangikum sits about 100 kilometres north of Red Lake.

Leon said the riot was sparked by an early morning incident Saturday between a Pikangikum First Nation police officer and a community member. The police officer had stopped the driver of an ATV on suspicion he was drinking and driving. As the officer tried to arrest the driver a community member intervened. The confrontation led the officer to fire his Taser to subdue the community member, said Leon.

“It is concerning. The OPP treats matters involving officer safety seriously,” he said. “An appropriate measure response was coordinated. We are very grateful we had some individuals in the community that did step forward before the arrival of the OPP.”

Leon said no police weapons were taken and the crowd did not grab any police files or reports. No fires were set during the incident, he said.

Pikangikum has a stormy relationship with police, twice evicting the police department from the community in the past.

The Pikangikum police operates under the OPP’s Aboriginal policing program.

http://aptn.ca/news/2015/06/29/pikangik ... hment-opp/
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Pikangikum Protest Leaves OPP Barricaded in Office

Postby Thomas » Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:38 am

THUNDER BAY – A Northern Ontario community reacted to an incident that is making the rounds on social media. A community member in Pikangikum was tasered by OPP during an arrest on Saturday that led to a small protest that escalated into a larger dispute that left the OPP barricading themselves inside of the detachment office.

OPP report that as many as 200 people eventually joined in the protest which started with only twenty people.

A video was shot of the community member being arrested and circulated on social media.

By late Saturday, the protest was over, community members had stepped in to help de-escalate the issue.

The Pikangikum First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation located on the 1,808-hectare Pikangikum 14 Reserve, in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario.

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Pikangikum police protest gets ugly

Postby Thomas » Wed Jul 01, 2015 1:23 am

Provincial police officers remained posted to Pikangikum First Nation Monday, two days after a hair-raising protest by about 200 disgruntled locals caused provincial and First Nation officers to hunker down in the top floor of the reserve’s police station.

OPP spokesman Sgt. Peter Leon said that although the station was “significantly damaged” during the Saturday night protest, there are no plans by the force to leave the remote community, as it did a few years ago following a different dispute.

“There’s nothing to suggest that,” said Leon, who is based at OPP’s Orillia headquarters. “We remain committed to ensuring the community’s safety.”

Policing at Pikangikum, about 100 kilometres north of Red Lake, is provided jointly by the OPP and the reserve’s own police force of about five officers.

Leon said OPP officers and their Pikangikum counterparts took cover early Saturday night after a “peaceful” demonstration regarding policing that began earlier in the day turned ugly.

According to Leon, some locals were angered when a local man was Tasered by a Pikangikum First Nation officer during an arrest that occurred earlier Saturday.

The man was not injured, said Leon, but the use of the Taser sparked a demonstration in front of the community’s two-storey police station.

According to police, the man was Tasered after he got involved in the arrest of another reserve man.

When the demonstration got out of hand, said Leon, some protesters entered the lower part of the police building and started damaging equipment. Vehicles outside the building were also vandalized, he said.

For their own safety, said Leon, officers took cover in the top of the building and requested backup from the OPP’s Red Lake detachment.

No injuries occurred, he said.

With the help of Pikangikum’s band council, said Leon, the protest broke up shortly after midnight.

On Monday, band council said it wouldn’t comment on the protest and its aftermath. A man who answered the phone at the band office said some residents have recently expressed concerns about how policing is being administered.

“We have our own police officers, but it’s the OPP that’s in the driver’s seat,” said the man, who didn’t want to be named.

Leon said the OPP assigns provincial officers to Pikangikum on a rotational basis as part of its aboriginal policing program.

Police are operating out of another reserve building while the damage to the police station is being assessed, Leon said.

An OPP crime unit is investigating the vandalism that occurred during the protest.

Meanwhile, officers are holding up morale wise, he added.

“To the best of my knowledge they are doing well,” he said. “It’s fair to say that not too many police officers would experience something like that.”

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Police lay charges after protest targets officers in norther

Postby Thomas » Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:10 am

Police lay charges after protest targets officers in northern Ontario First Nation

Three police vehicles destroyed, officers barricaded in detachment in June 27 protest in Pikangikum

Provincial police have arrested and charged eight people from Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario, after a protest last month destroyed three police vehicles and left officers barricaded inside their detachment.

Four adults and four young offenders were arrested and charged on July 7 or July 8 with a variety of offences.

A 30-year-old woman is facing charges of assault a peace officer with a weapon. Other charges include break and enter, mischief and breach of probation.

Two adults and one of the teens remain in custody pending the outcome of a hearing in Kenora on Friday. The others were released from custody and scheduled to attend court in Pikangikum on September 2, police said.

"Myself, council members, elders and community members are pleased that the incident has been resolved in a peaceful and decisive manner and those responsible have been held accountable," Pikangikum Chief Paddy Peters said in a news release issued by police.

"It is important to note that the actions of a few do not reflect the community at large," Peters said.

The protest began on June 27 after a Pikangikum police officer used a stun gun in the course of arresting a community member, according to OPP Sgt. Peter Leon.

Protesters threw rocks and caused "extensive damage" to the two-storey Ontario Provincial Police detachment and "left officers in a situation where they had to take up fortification," Leon said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-b ... -1.3145538
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