At a Nova Scotia Police Review Board Hearing this morning, about racial profiling. My understanding is that a Black person was told to leave the Dingle because it was closed, while white folks present were left alone. #nspoli #DefundThePolice
It's at the Airport Hotel, which is not very convenient for an incident that happened in Halifax to a person from #Halifax. Two days have been set aside.
There's other media here, real journalists, so I am probably here just for the morning. Get a taste kind of thing. It's hard when you are a newsroom of one to take two days out of a workweek,
Lots of lawyers here for the police, but the two complainants are on their own. That doesn't seem right.
HRP missed a deadline in terms of the report. Here they were asked to investigate themselves, and they couldn't even do that right, says the complainant. Had we been late our complaint would have been dismissed, they say. Why isn't this a two way street?
Lawyer for the cops disagrees. True, we missed the deadline, but that doesn't mean the commission should decide for the complainants.
Legal argument ensues.
Still, legal argument aside, the complainant is right, had he been late he would have been screwed. I guarantee.
Still talking about HRP missing the deadline and what that entails.
The lawyer for the cops is arguing that because HRP missed the report deadline the tribunal doesn't have jurisdiction! That may be legal and all, but it's pretty godawful, and the complainants are understandably very upset.
It's like the officers are the victims, but we are the victims here, say the complainants.
HRP never took this investigation serious, we had to press them to even take our evidence, they say.
SO HRP missed a deadline, and the case is dismissed, complainant asks. They could do this on purpose, just time themselves out. Chair responds, we need to decide the jurisdictional issue first, we haven't yet,
You're all talking about legal precedents, just think about the precedent you are setting if this case gets dismissed? How is this fair? We don't control HRP investigating itself and missing deadlines.
Complainant: "It's not like the officers are an independent party from HRP, they were wearing uniforms when they were harassing us. Now HRP can not follow the law and therefore get off scot free? Chair reminds him that they haven't decided yet.
I feel so sorry for the complainants. I know they agonized to get their day in court and now this. Let's wait for the decision.
Now the lawyer for the HRP disciplinary authority. She is arguing that the complainants, just like the cops, are also entitled to jurisdictional fairness. Missing the report deadline is relevant in cases when only internal discipline is involved.
Complainants say we didn't make these rules, we just want to have a fair hearing.
The problem is that legislation and regulations do not define any kind of consequence if a report deadline is missed.
The members of the tribunal are deliberating and the press and I are waiting outside.
We did get a chance to talk to the complainant, Adam LeRue. For him this is about being racially profiled by Halifax Police. It was 10 pm when he pulled into the Dingle parking lot with his partner to answer an incoming call.
Park was closed but this was the parking lot, to answer a phone call. Cops arrive on the scene. Having been profiled lots of times he asks to speak to supervisor, which is denied Ends up getting arrested and spends the night in jail. Asks for asthma puffer but that too is denied.
We're back. This is not what we were expecting when we went in this morning, says the chair. The tribunal is adjourned, we will require briefs to resole this question of jurispridence.
I really think that the complainants need a lawyer. I run into this at NS Human Rights Tribunals as well, individuals up against institutions are at such a disadvantage.
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