Fantino urged to apologize for beating

Jun 01, 2007
Peter Edwards
Robyn Doolittle
Staff reporters – Toronto Star

FOREST, Ont.–OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino should apologize – in person – to Kettle and Stony Point band member Cecil Bernard George, 12 years after he was brutally beaten by police during the Ipperwash dispute, the head of the Ipperwash inquiry says.

This was one of dozens of recommendations Justice Sidney Linden directed toward the police force in his report on the occupation at Ipperwash Provincial Park.

Fantino was not available for comment yesterday.

The report found several instances of racist behaviour in the OPP during the operation, including the manufacture of souvenir T-shirts and coffee mugs after Dudley George's death in September 1995.

While he slammed some members of the OPP for their actions at the time, Linden also praised the OPP for taking initiatives to improve its relations with First Nations people since the night Cecil George was beaten and his cousin Dudley George was fatally shot.

"The OPP acknowledged that the shooting death of Dudley George left a tragic mark on the relationship between the OPP and the aboriginal community," Linden said. "Yet it was also a catalyst for significant, constructive change within the OPP."

"The police/aboriginal relations initiatives undertaken by the OPP in recent years are impressive in their breadth and depth," Linden wrote. He recommended they make further changes to ensure any racist or culturally insensitive behaviour by officers would be dealt with publicly.