Innu leaders decry RCMP video showing alleged excessive force during Sheshatshiu arrest
Innu leaders say RCMP used excessive force in a home arrest in Sheshatshiu, captured on a video that has spread online.
A video posted by Nerissa Rich shows Royal Canadian Mounted Police entering a Sheshatshiu home to arrest her boyfriend, who had been intoxicated, and using force that community leaders describe as excessive. The footage captures officers pinning the man, striking his face, punching him multiple times, and ultimately deploying a stun gun, while onlookers shout and a police dog barks. Innu First Nation Chief Eugene Hart and Innu Nation Grand Chief Jodie Ashini labeled the incident as systemic racism and demanded that the officer involved be barred from reserve postings.
Protesters, including several dozen people and Lorraine Rich, gathered outside the RCMP detachment awaiting the detainee’s release. The leaders also reiterated a long-standing request for a tribal police service under provincial and federal authority. RCMP has not responded to inquiries.
Why it matters
The incident raises concerns about police conduct toward Indigenous communities and fuels calls for self-governed policing.
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