An “emergency rally” is in the works for Thursday in the wake of the weekend viral video that showed a Halifax Regional Police officer with his gun drawn on a Black man allegedly telling him he would fill him full of lead.
Raymond Sheppard, who describes himself as an Indigenous African Nova Scotian elder, is organizing the rally, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. outside HRP's Gottingen Street headquarters.
“I am traumatized and appalled that in this so-called enlightened year of 2021, we still have attempted George Floyds in Nova Scotia,” Sherppard said in a telephone interview on Monday.
“And the language that this police officer used, based on this video – apparently he said 'I will fill you with lead' and 'I should shoot you for fun' – this is unacceptable, regardless of the union backing the officer. This officer should be fired.”
One man charged
The incident happened on Friday evening, at about 6 p.m., when officers responded to a weapons complaint on Wentworth Drive in Halifax. Three other men were arrested at the scene and officers recovered crack cocaine and a loaded gun from a vehicle. Although two of those men were later released, the third, Derrick Coryaunt Allison, 30, of Halifax, is facing multiple trafficking and firearms related charges.
The video, apparently recorded from the balcony of a nearby apartment building, showed the officer following the man around a pickup truck and shouting words that are not completely clear but appear to be threatening to shoot the suspect, who had his hands raised throughout the interaction until he ran away. No shots were fired.
Sheppard said it doesn't matter what the African Nova Scotian man might have been suspected of doing or in possession of.
“We're moving backwards instead of forwards when it comes to police and the African Nova Scotian community. And it has to stop.”
Call for respect
Sheppard said he realizes some people are doing what they shouldn't be doing, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated with respect.
“I could not, as an African Nova Scotian elder, draw a weapon and point it toward someone just because they are trying to get in my car, and then say I should fill you with lead.”
He called for a mechanism to be put in place through government for discipline of police up to firing.
Halifax police Chief Dan Kinsella issued a statement on Saturday confirming the time of the incident and calling the officer's apparent comments “unacceptable.”
“An internal investigation has been initiated into the incident,” he said. “The officer involved has been placed on administrative duties, pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
HRP had no more comment to add on Monday.
Sgt. Dean Stienburg, the president of the Halifax Regional Police Association, which represents officers, said Sunday he’s confident the officer will be exonerated and his actions saluted.
“You have a very small snippet of video here that’s already been misquoted in the (media), certainly taken out of context, social media in particular, and I’m really disappointed where the focus of this has gone,” Stienburg said.
“When you take the context of this call, ... you understand what occurred here: a lone officer intervening in a violent call where the information he has is that there’s potentially a firearm involved. He manages to come there himself, actually apprehends three people, recovers and takes a firearm off the street, ends up seizing illegal drugs, probably, may well have, stopped a shooting from occurring, potentially another murder.
"And the focus has been on one comment, one tiny piece of the actual interaction. And I’m really disappointed that the chief has not come out and given the public more information about what occurred.”
Sheppard said he received many emails from across the province about the video, calling for something to be done.
“It is incumbent upon us to get together — safely, wearing masks and so on — on the first of April at 2 o'clock in front of the Halifax police service and to really, really bring truth to power in terms of saying how this has impacted us, how it continues to impact us and it's not just an isolated incident,” he said. “Excessive force has been used during 2020 by … a few officers in Halifax Regional Police, and years that have gone before that. So this is nothing new, it just seems that it's escalating and almost plateauing with the potential death of an African Nova Scotian by the hand of police.”
Broken promises
Sheppard said it seems like authorities are not following promises made after a year of social turmoil and the emergence of movements like Black Lives Matter.
Kinsella had apologized to the African Nova Scotian community for street checks, but Sheppard questioned whether anything like updated training or communication with representatives of the community to share information on trauma they have suffered with police are actually taking place.
“It seems that people give lip service at the moment and then two weeks later or whatever, it's like they do not follow up on any promises to put in place some kind of legislation or protocols to deal with this type of thing.
“It's kind of like people say things hoping that you'll forget in two weeks.”
Sheppard, who writes, advocates for change and helps people wherever he can, said people should be treating each other with respect and realize we are all humans.
“It really affects me down to my core.”
'Black people are scared'
Activist, poet and educator El Jones said she was not surprised when the video made the social media rounds.
“We've been seeing all along – not only for the last few years but for many decades – we've seen evidence of this kind of aggressive police misconduct when it comes to Black people.”
She said the biggest change has been the capturing of these things on video. But that hasn't led to any changes.
“What we see is … these crises arise, and yeah, there's rallies and outrage, and the police weather that and they continue to do whatever it is they're doing.”
She said comments from some on social media posts saying the man should have just complied with police instructions are missing the context of the Black experience.
“Black people are scared of the police and if we run from the police, that's actually natural,” she said. “We're frightened and scared.”
