Indigenous people in BC who've been hurt by police now have somewhere to call
The new Police Accountability Unit already has 83 active files, nearly half of them about use of force, and Chantel Moore's mother says it took too many deaths to get here.
Indigenous people in British Columbia affected by police violence, misconduct, or negligence can now get free legal support through the BC First Nations Justice Council's Police Accountability Unit, which launched out of a 2024 pilot.
The unit exists because the numbers are stark. Indigenous people make up 5.1% of Canada's population but account for 16.2% of police-involved deaths, and in 2024 nine Indigenous people were killed by police across the country in a single 20-day stretch.
For Martha Martin of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, the help arrives late. Her daughter, 26-year-old Chantel Moore, was shot and killed during a wellness check in New Brunswick in June 2020. Five months later, her son Mike died in custody at the Surrey Pretrial Centre. The waiting for answers, she said, has been the hardest part.
The unit's managing lawyer, Alexander Kirby, said demand has already outpaced expectations and the team will need to grow. Justice Council director Cloy-e-iis (Dr. Judith Sayers) said one of its key jobs is documenting an ongoing pattern of Indigenous people harmed by police, and reassuring people who fear backlash for filing a complaint.
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