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Protest at police station organized following allegations of carding

THUNDER BAY -- Law students are using a recent alleged encounter with police as a teachable moment. A 15-year-old student from Neskantaga said she was recently arbitrarily detained by police on her way back to school.
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THUNDER BAY -- Law students are using a recent alleged encounter with police as a teachable moment.

A 15-year-old student from Neskantaga said she was recently arbitrarily detained by police on her way back to school.

The Indigenous Law Student Association is using the allegations as a way to teach everyone, not just First Nations youth, about their rights.

The association will hold a rally and teach-in outside of the Thunder Bay Police Service headquarters on Balmoral Street Wednesday afternoon.

"We would like to get information out to young people in general," organizer Sherry Abotossaway said.  

The group is hoping to collaborate with police and eventually host workshops in local schools.

For now they'll be handing out cards with information on what to do and what a person's rights are should they be stopped by police.

"The way we see it is maybe this is just a minor part of a major problem," Abotossaway said.
The rally starts at 5 p.m.

Officials with the Thunder Bay Police Service have previously told tbnewswatch.com that their officers do not partake in the practice of carding. They issued the following statement Wednedsay:

 

"Officers will from time to time, have the need to speak with members of the public.  The Thunder Bay Police Service does not arbitrarily stop persons to collect personal information.

It has been our experience that having the public’s trust and cooperation is paramount to conducting investigations.  We seek to identify persons who we believe have information that may further an investigation.  As the name “Intelligence Based Policing” suggests, public safety and criminal investigations rely on the analysis of good information.  Any contact our officers have with the public can be beneficial and often assists in furthering our ability to serve and protect all members of our community.

People have the right to fair and bias free treatment by their police service and we respect that."


 





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