Talk:List of excessive police force incidents in Canada

Page severely out of date
I added a couple recent episodes of police brutality, but I think the article is in need of redefining its parameters as to what counts as violence brought about by police, since incidents involving sexual assault haven't been listed and would not be listed anywhere else that I know of. I'm not adept enough at writing wiki articles to do so. http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela-palmater/2016/02/police-violence-ontario-has-reached-crisis-level-and-we-shoul — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.245.24.167 (talk) 19:41, 10 July 2016 (UTC)

Background to page
This list replaces the deleted Category:Police brutality in Canada, see Categories for discussion/Log/2012 June 1. – Fayenatic  L ondon 18:59, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Const. Jason Nevill

BARRIE - A Barrie police officer was captured on video delivering repeated blows to a man’s head as he lay pinned facedown on the ground with his arms behind his back — all because of a broken Christmas ornament.

The troubling video, which was played in court on Wednesday, shows Const. Jason Nevill speaking to the man and then suddenly beating him to the ground.

Nevill is now on trial, charged with assault causing bodily harm, fabricating the evidence against the victim and obstruction of justice.

The beating was caught on the mall security video which shows Nevill repeatedly punching and kneeing, Jason Stern, 25, of Barrie, who was pinned to the ground by two mall security officers.

Twice, Stern appears to have gone limp and unconscious, but still the officer can be seen punching him in the head.

“I didn’t know why I was being beaten — I kept pleading with him, ‘Stop, stop, I’m a good person,’” said Stern on the witness stand, dressed in a suit and tie. “Then I blacked out.”

He said he came to and the punching was still going on.

The entire incident began with the video showing Stern walking through the Bayfield mall with his girlfriend and another couple after a midnight game of bowling when suddenly his friend, Simon, playfully reached up and took a swipe at a Christmas ornament, causing it to break.

The foursome then exit the mall but Stern returned because he forgot his wallet. He was met at the door by two security officers who ask him to remain until police arrive. Stern is seen waiting patiently with the two security officers, not knowing he was facing any trouble.

As Nevill approaches, the two can be seen talking when Nevill attacks Stern and wrestles him to the ground.

“He asked me what my friend’s name was,” explained Stern. “I didn’t want to tell him. I figured the worst that could happen was I would have to pay for the Christmas ornament.”

Court heard Nevill later told police that Stern had attacked him first by kneeing him in the groin, and that he only punched Stern twice. However the video shows Nevill delivering about a dozen blows to Stern’s head without ever being attacked.

“I was terrified. I was so confused,” said Stern, noting he had never been in a fight or previously run into trouble with police. “I will never know to this day why it happened.”

The trial continues. — in Barrie, Ontario.

source: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2013/01/23/barrie-police-officer-facing-several-charges-following-incident-at-bayfield-mall  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tattee (talk • contribs) 03:34, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

BC items for inclusion/consideration and a few nationally, also comments about military/voltigeur/VI Rifles
Not sure if "brutality" is meant exactly which way; maybe cases like Ian Bush are under a separate rubric? But these also come to mind
 * the Seton Portage incident during the Oka Crisis of 1990 (see section in linked article; but that's organized/group brutality and though no injuries at the protest, and no violence for the actual arrests, but the use of dogs and batons and 63 riot squad in a community of about 700 qualifies
 * the beating causing brain damage of the disabled groundskeeper in Kelowna a few Xmases ago
 * right after that, the pregnant woman who had her door kicked down on her in a mistaken-address incident, also in Kelowna; various similar mistaken address raids/beatings over the years; some rank as notable as re that groundskeeper it also got widespread coverage in US media and beyond.
 * Fred Quilt; there's other native cases historically and lately, but that one is prominently missing; has issues emergent from recent update there maybe no longer qualifies, though a famous case of anti-native police brutality that was one of the events that twing'd off the native revival of the '70s. A blip on the historical landscape now, and mostly forgotten (by all but native legal historians and rights activists); was covered a fair bit in the papers for a long time, before being upstaged by other stories and events.
 * the UBC anti-G8 demonstrations where pepper spray et al. were used
 * historically there's much more; during the dock strike and martial law of the '30s and other labour incidents; was our specialist in labour history in BC, he's no longer active and is publishing his own books on Vancouver heritage and history, which would be good sources for this material
 * there were violent strikes in the Kootenay and Boundary districts in the first half of the 20th Century, again some may have been police, some security contractors (as the modern term goes). Also on Vancouver Island, particularly Chemainus-Ladysmith but also Cumberland...and I think on Texada, though that was iron not coal and wasn't BCPP and maybe private troops/thugs in uniform.
 * The Victoria Voltigeurs and the group of West Indian Vancouver Island Rifles (not sure of their name just now) were both police forces; there were no incidents of abuse or violence, though the Voltigeurs were Metis fur company men and rough as individuals; but no serious events happened during their existence, although the Voltigeurs were sometimes deployed on RN vessels on certain missions, I think.
 * The BCPP that was founded with the appointment of Chartres Brew has a roster of constabulary stories, about individuals and also group actions, that have a rough side; some like Donald Manson and Donald McLean were known for their brutality, among others; some became constables, but had effectively been that within the HBC for years already. A lot of the constabulary in the oldest days of the colony seem to have just commanded respect from e.g. their captives/arrestees, as with Frank Barnard and others, as famously Judge Begbie; Governor Douglas in his earlier days had been known for his roughness in New Caledonia (see Chief Kwah.
 * although the Royal Navy was not directly involved in government, nor the Royal Engineers nor Royal Marines, they were effectively the marine police along the coast. But bombardments don't count as brutality in its usual person-to-person meaning and technically they were military, not police as such (though often acting in that capacity); and never had to engage in crowd combat or, normally, arrests that might become violent.
 * Similarly the DFO and BC Wildlife Service had various incidents of confrontations with natives; though more generally the shooting war in the Fraser Canyon and later in the Upper Fraser Valley over aboriginal fishing quotas and black market salmon etc
 * related items not directly physically brutal but death by shooting include Frank Gott and Ginger Goodwin, the former shot by an assistant game warden from a distance, after a quarrel, the other in mysterious circumstances in the bush near Cumblerland where police and strikebreakers had been in violent clashes of which Goodwin was a leader; Chinese replacement workers were brought in, the police/security were protecting them from on-strike (or shut out?) union members; but beatings there were, as also in the '30s in Vancouver and in the Kootenays, Natal comes to mind as one big strike;
 * can't remember if the Doukhbour arrests ever got rough; lurid, yes, but passive resistance might not count; Eagleridge and Burnaby Mountain and Lyell Island and Clayoquot Sound protests were similarly passive arrests
 * last but not least, the Gastown Riots.

RoC items
Outside of BC the Yellowknife Mine Strike and other strikebreaking events comes to mind; but there the strikebreaking troops in, as I recall, Mountie uniforms/riot gear, were actually Pinkertons, or others deputized as RCMP for the occasion; this went on in Quebec a lot with the SQ too, no? - and would the incidents in Saskatchewan where RCMP (or city police?) drove natives 10 miles out of town in twenty-below weather and left them there?

The suppression of the general strike when Newfoundland was made a dictatorship ruled by a British-appointed council (can't remember its name) was very violent, and mostly Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, don't know the details, maybe some military too

There's various cases of exonerated prisoners released on new evidence, and with apologies; most were beating when taken under arrest, and in prison; I mention them because they would qualify as notable because of the high-profile nature of their cases (Donald Marshall is the first that comes to mind)

This isn't meant to be provocative, only left as suggestions for expansion and citation/article creation and also related topics e.g. the shootings of Frank Gott and Ian Bush - which if not for the word "brutality" fall into the same general category of police violence - "merely" brutal, not mortal. The naval bombardments of native towns and illegal hangings and occasional summary justice by the military again is not police in the strictest sense via terminology, but another branch of official/state violence and policing-type authority.

All said only in the interests of thoroughness of general context, much might be on other parallel lists; this one is only for "brutality" vs killings and accidental deaths and for police-as-police only, not military et al

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"List of excessive police force incidents in Canada"
The current title says "of" a lot, maybe too much. I propose this new title and will try to move the article. That's not to say I mind if anyone else would rather move it back and keep it this way. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:09, 30 March 2018 (UTC)

New Additions
It appears as if a number of the new additions are too soon. There are a couple entries where no detail is provided as to the excessive force, such as Regis Korchinski-Paquet. Should these feature on this list without corroboration? Homagetocatalonia (talk) 14:42, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

New related article
Hello all, I plan on making an article focusing on police brutality against Indigenous Canadians more broadly, inspired by Police brutality against Native Americans. The overall structure for it is in my sandbox if you would like to take a look and leave any suggestions on my talk page or how it could be linked to this page. ANy advice is appreciated! Skyef25 (talk) 23:35, 3 October 2022 (UTC)