Whose interests do the police watchdog agency represent?

Cassity Delvenne, a 24-year-old Indigenous woman, was arrested by the Brandon Police Service (BPS) and charged with impaired driving and resisting arrest on June 12.

A 45-second bystander video of Delvenne’s arrest shows officers on top of her, repeatedly striking her. Brandon police acknowledge that the officers did hit Delvenne. Allegations of excessive force have been levied against the arresting officers. Delvenne’s mother maintains that she has photos showing extensive injuries to her daughter that include bloodied ears, bruising and a chipped tooth.

Delvenne reportedly made a complaint to the BPS following her arrest. She died nine days later. The exact cause of her death is under investigation.

On Sept. 11, the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU), Manitoba’s police oversight agency, confirmed that it had reviewed Delvenne’s arrest but would not launch a full investigation. They offered no explanation for the decision.

According to BPS Chief Tyler Bates, Delvenne’s death “is not within [the IIU] mandate and that it is not in the public interest to investigate.” One of the circumstances covered under the IIU mandate includes serious injury to a person resulting from police actions.

Even if the extent of Delvenne’s reported injuries does not meet the definition in the IIU regulations of a “serious” injury, it is within their purview to investigate “any other matter for which the civilian director considers it within the public interest to conduct an investigation.”

The IIU absolutely could investigate this incident and has exercised its discretion not to. At the very least, the IIU should provide a detailed explanation for the decision to not investigate. Further, Bates’ suggestion that it is “not in the public interest to investigate” belies a serious misunderstanding of what constitutes public interest — and who the public is.

It is absolutely within the public interest to understand how a 24-year-old Indigenous woman — a mother, a student, a daughter — came to be beaten by police. Mere weeks before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, when government institutions and police will tout all of the work they are doing to address the historical harms of colonization, to deny the colonial harm that continues to be perpetrated on Indigenous people and communities and to say that it is unworthy of public interest is both callous and shortsighted.

How can Indigenous people and communities ever be reconciled and have trust that their interests will be represented when they are denied even the semblance of transparency and justice?

If the IIU and Brandon police are genuinely committed to truth and reconciliation, there will be a full, independent investigation. The public should be demanding a full investigation and make it clear that we — the public — have an interest in this case. However, the IIU does not communicate with nor take requests for investigations from the public. It is curious that an oversight body that purports to represent the public interest and makes determinations about what is in the public interest will not hear what the public is interested in. It’s time to change this policy.

The police have extraordinary power, including the authority to use deadly force. The state-sanctioned ability to use force that is granted to law enforcement should always be subject to the highest levels of scrutiny. The stakes are just too high.

Therefore, it is absolutely in the public interest to fully investigate all allegations of excessive force enacted upon citizens, especially against Indigenous persons and those who have historically been subject to state violence; if such allegations prove to be unfounded, then the public is reassured that police are doing their jobs in a way that protects citizens’ rights. And if the allegations are justified, then the public is assured that the government takes state violence seriously and that there are consequences for agents of the state who violate citizens’ rights.

If we are to prioritize truth and reconciliation, then fulsome information and understanding of situations like this are vitally important to the public interest for Indigenous people and for us all.

» Christopher J. Schneider is a professor of sociology at Brandon University and Stacey Hannem is a professor of criminology at Wilfrid Laurier University. They are members of The Reasonable Officer Observatory at the University of Toronto.