Heiltsuk upset VPD officers ditch BMO handcuffing apology ceremony

The Heiltsuk Nation has to abandon its scheduled apology ceremony Monday because the two Vancouver police officers who handcuffed Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter at a downtown Vancouver bank didn’t show up.

Instead, the Nation will hold an uplifting ceremony for Johnson and his family Monday evening, it said in a release. Heiltsuk protocols don’t allow for people to stand in place of others, and the traditional apology ceremony can’t be carried out if the people who themselves caused harm aren’t present.

“We are extremely disappointed and disheartened by the Constables’ decision not to attend,” Heiltsuk elected chief Marilyn Slett said in a statement Monday afternoon.

“This was meant to mark the beginning of a new relationship between Heiltsuk Nation, [Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs], and the Vancouver Police Board working together to address systemic racism in policing.”

Johnson has won settlements with Bank of Montreal and the Vancouver Police Department after he filed a human rights complaint over his treatment when he visited the bank in December 19.

The Heiltsuk Nation had to abandon plans for an apology ceremony. (Heiltsuk Nation)

The bank teller called 911 because they suspected Johnson and his granddaughter’s status cards were fake, and officers arrested the pair and placed both in handcuffs — even though the granddaughter was only 12 years old at the time.

Following legal settlements, the Heiltsuk Nation, of which Johnson is a member, had planned a traditional apology ceremony in Bella Bella for the family and the officers involved.

But when Const. Canon Wong and Const. Mitchel Tong didn’t show up, they had to change course. The revised ceremony will happen at 5 pm Monday.

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Slett the officers’ lack of willingness to respect Heiltsuk traditions is a continuation of the discrimination police have shown Indigenous people in the past.

In addition, she questioned mayor-elect Ken Sim’s promise to hire 100 more Vancouver Police Department officers — since existing officers were unwilling to attend the ceremony.

“Why expand an institution that cannot or will not advance justice and reconciliation, or take responsibility for its actions?”