Are OPP sacrificing the law to keep natives happy?
By Susan Clairmont
The
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The volatile native land occupation in
The Ontario Provincial Police classifies native reserves as "hostile towards police," yet officers are regularly ordered to take fewer tactical precautions on reserves out of fear of insulting or inciting the natives.
That was the testimony from members of the disbanded Barrie Tactical and Rescue Unit during a long and controversial Police Act Hearing that ended Feb. 27 -- the day before First Nations protesters and the OPP began vigils at a disputed land site in
Many of the complaints and criticisms heard from TRU members at the hearing are being echoed by OPP officers on the ground in Caledonia who have been ordered to do things they feel are unsafe even though the situation is volatile and -- at times -- violent.
Not long ago, officers met with the Ontario Provincial Police Association after being told not to wear riot gear, after TRU team members were ordered not to wear tactical uniforms and officers were sent out without proper backup.
At the time, OPPA president Karl Walsh spoke out against the orders.
But since that interview two weeks ago, he has not returned any calls to The Spectator, leaving OPP officers without an official voice.
There seems to be mounting evidence that the OPP is more concerned about keeping the natives happy than in upholding the law and keeping officers and the public safe.
That revelation was repeated numerous times at the public disciplinary hearing for Constable Ron Heinemann, a 12-year member of the elite TRU team.
While in a native home on the Chippewas of the Thames reserve near London two and a half years ago, Heinemann defaced a native warrior flag and drew an X through the famous photo of a soldier and a warrior nose to nose at Oka.
Heinemann admitted his actions -- which came at the end of a long, tense and largely mishandled standoff -- were stupid but not racist. He testified that he believes -- and has been told during OPP training -- that the warriors are similar to other organized crime units.
He pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct and deceit and his entire TRU team was disbanded after other members tried to coverup what Heinemann did.
Heinemann and fellow TRU team members testified to a long history of poor relations with native warriors and a volatile past that includes
They told the hearing that, despite experience and intelligence information that makes it clear to them they are entering "hostile" territory every time they go on a reserve, they are told to abandon their own standard operating procedures in favour of appearing less intimidating and friendlier to the natives.
"They were limited in the way they could proceed because of the extra sensitivity," says high-profile criminal lawyer John Rosen, who represented Heinemann at the hearing.
"There is a disconnect really between what goes on on the ground and what goes on in the upper echelons ... They're more concerned about PR than tactics. At least it's the perception of officers in the field, and that goes directly to morale."
The OPP never refuted those claims during the hearing. And it did not respond to repeated interview requests for this column.
Hearing transcripts show that at least four times at the Chippewa call, officers were ordered to deviate from the way they have been trained to operate:
* Standard operating procedure on a reserve is to have two TRU teams respond to calls. A request for a second team was made and denied.
* A roadblock set up by TRU was moved closer to a barricaded shooter to allow a variety store to remain open.
* Requests by TRU to shoot the tires out of vehicles parked in the driveway of a target home were denied.
* TRU snipers were denied access to a house next door to the target home because the native family didn't want to leave or be seen talking to police.
The entire operation nearly turned disastrous when the family who wouldn't leave wound up outside at the same time people from the target house were coming out and getting in a truck that had not been disabled.
"It's the worst-case scenario, that now you've got an innocent family in between a heavily armed tactical unit and an active shooter, somebody who had been actively shooting," Heinemann testified. "So their lives were put at risk."
Other testimony during the hearing included fascinating insight into police intelligence on the native criminal element.
Mention was made of OPP officers being run off the Oneida Reserve near
Of the Mohawk warriors there offering $50,000 to anyone who shoots down an OPP helicopter.
Of armed warriors guarding marijuana grow operations.
Of warriors hiding in bush lines training high-powered, scoped weapons at TRU officers performing duties on reserves.
And warrior plans to kill Ken Deane, the OPP officer who fatally shot Dudley George, an unarmed native protester at Ipperwash.