On Monday, Chantel Moore's family found out there would be no charges against the officer who shot and killed the 26-year-old. We speak to President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, Judith Sayers about what happened, and a family member of Moore to learn what's next.
On Monday, Chantel Moore's family found out there would be no charges against the officer who shot and killed the 26-year-old. We speak to President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, Judith Sayers about what happened, and a family member of Moore to learn what's next.
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Disclaimer: These interviews have been edited for clarity and length.
Jackie: Hi, my name is Jackie Lamport. Today is Wednesday, June 9. Welcome to the Capital Daily Podcast. Last Friday was the one-year anniversary of the killing of Chantel Moore, a woman from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. She was shot to death by an Edmundston police officer in New Brunswick. On Monday, the family learned the officer will face no charges. We hear from the family and community about how they are responding to this result. Co-producer Emily Vance has the story today.
Emily: Last week was a sombre milestone for the family of Chantel Moore and the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. Friday, June 4, marked one year since 26-year-old Chantel was fatally shot by a police officer with the municipal force in Edmundston, New Brunswick. This past Friday, a vigil for Chantal was held at the Legislature in Victoria, and a memorial march also took place in the Lower Mainland. Chantel Moore was a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in Tofino. She moved to New Brunswick to be closer to her mother and young daughter. In the early hours of June 4, 2020, her ex-boyfriend, who was living in Quebec, called Edmundston police to check on her well-being after messages coming from her phone made him concerned for her safety. At 2:30 AM, officer Jeremy Son arrived at Chantel's home. In the review released Monday by the Quebec Independent Investigations Office, he claims she answered the door holding a knife and began walking towards him. He then shot her three times in the chest and once below her left knee. Since then, her family, the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, and the Nuu Chah Nulth Tribal Council have called for answers and justice in the wake of her death. When the investigation was made public this past Monday, they learned that no charges would be laid against officer Jeremy Son, who has still been working for the force on desk duty since the shooting. In a statement, the Nuu Chah Nulth Tribal Council called it a “shocking and heartbreaking murder," and that the lack of charges against the officer in question is "reflective of Canada's persisting colonization and genocidal practices." Chantel is not the only member of the Nation to be killed as a result of police violence in the past year. In February, then 28-year-old Julian Jones was fatally shot by RCMP in the community on the southern tip of Meares Island near Tofino. The tragedy struck the already grieving community, and leaders put out yet another statement calling for change and stating that the RCMP has killed more Tla-o-qui-aht members than COVID. Just last month in May, a third member was shot by police. She survived but was severely injured and is still recovering in hospital. Capital Daily reporter Brishti Basu spoke with Judith Sayers, the President of Nuu Chah Nulth Tribal Council, and Joe Martin, a relative of Chantel, who speaks for the family. Brishti joins us on today's show for an interview with host Jackie Lamport.
Jackie: Brishti, thank you for joining us again.
Brishti: Thanks for having me, Jackie.
Jackie: You spoke to Judith Sayers, who listeners may recall joined our podcast on the last episode, where we focused on Chantel Moore's story. What was her initial reaction to the decision?
Brishti: When I called Judith, the first thing I asked was just, "How are you?” And the first thing she said was, "I've had better days." Then I asked her what happened at the meeting between Chantel's family members and the New Brunswick prosecutors, and the big question of will the officer face criminal charges. And she said, "No charges, reasonable force, blah, blah, blah." You could kind of hear the exhaustion in her voice. And you can tell right away that she's heard these reasons before and that she's been through this process in the past.
Judith (audio clip): Yeah, so there are no charges against him because he used reasonable force even though he killed her and did shoot. They found four bullets in her, and there was a fifth shot, but the bullet was on the ground.
Jackie: What did you gather from her about the family's response to the council decision?
Brishti: She wasn't really able to see the family during the meeting. It was a Zoom meeting, and the screen was focused on the lawyer. But she said in her conversations with family members that they're all really upset.
Jackie: I know, having talked to several of the members, that they're all very upset and can't believe that this man got away with basically killing their family member. Was this a shock by any means?
Brishti: I think it was a shock, given the details of this case. This young woman was shot four times.
Jackie: Does this mean the case is closed?
Brishti: The possibility of there being criminal charges is over. The case isn't exactly closed per se. There was a police complaint filed 11 months ago, which can now proceed now that we know the criminal investigation is over. And then there's a coroner's inquest. That's going to start in December. This is where members of the public can present evidence related to the death, but it's just a fact-finding process. It's not going to assign blame in the end.
Judith (audio clip): There's no appeal. The Crown Council makes a decision whether to press charges. And that's it. There is, of course, the coroner's inquest and the police act complaint that was filed 11 months ago that will be proceeding now that we know whether or not the charges have been made.
Jackie: Do you know if the family is planning to take further actions?
Brishti: The family is now considering filing a wrongful death civil lawsuit.
Judith (audio clip): And of course, the civil suit is something that's important to do to find out if there is any liability civilly because Chantel had a young daughter, and she's lost her mother. So it would be her estate that would be pursuing that lawsuit.
Jackie: You also spoke to Chantel's Uncle, Joe Martin, who's been speaking quite frequently for the family. What was his initial reaction?
Brishti: Disbelief. He said he doesn't trust the investigation because it's the police investigating the police at the end of the day.
Joe (audio clip): Police investigating police for themselves, and they protect themselves. I disagree with them.
Jackie: There was a lot of mistrust early on with the families of the police, given that they were left in the dark about some of the details about her actual death. They found out on their own that she had been shot in the leg, and they had their own autopsy done. The report that you read in from the investigation said that there were red stains on the wall, and they weren't found to be blood. But Joe is convinced otherwise and, at this point, has some reason to be skeptical. What did he say about that?
Brishti: So when Joe and other members of the family went to New Brunswick to attend Chantel's chart house funeral, he said they went to her apartment and saw bloodstains all over the back room. And when he called the investigators to ask about this, they told him that they were wine stains. Joe himself is adamant that that's not true, that he's a hunter, and he knows a bloodstain when he sees it.
Joe (audio clip): And then so when I called the investigative team in Quebec, their investigative officers there said to me, "Oh, those are probably wine splatters, but I know what blood looks like. I'm a hunter, and I've shot animals. I believe that it does not look like that.
Brishti: And the independent report doesn't specify what the stains are exactly. There was a forensic analysis, but it just concluded that it's not blood. The report found that Chantel's landlord and the previous tenant in her apartment both said there were traces of red substance on the wall before moving in. But again, there's no clarity on what that substance is.
Jackie: Before you spoke to Joe after the investigation results were put out, you had also spoken to him at the vigil on Vancouver Island. And this was just shortly after Chief Manak had announced that he is supportive of creating a mental health force that would respond to wellness checks instead of police, which is something that activists and people in this scene have been calling for for a very long time. What did Joe think about that?
Brishti: For Joe, he appreciated that Chief Manak is one person in a single police force trying to do, in his words, "uplifting work." Joe hopes that this type of initiative gains momentum and is adopted by police forces across Canada soon.
Joe (audio clip): I know that there are so many different situations across the country, and I hope that this kind of initiative will move quickly. I pray that it does.
Jackie: Judith Sayers also spoke about this.
Judith (audio clip): We've been asking for a review of wellness checks, just in case there are other options other than trauma-informed. We've been asking for a review of de-escalation tactics and use of force because we feel like five shots is excessive, way too much. Why do they need to do that? It doesn't make sense. So reviewing the excessive use of force and more cultural-based training. It's long been known that there are some people that feel that there's no value in Indigenous lives. And we need to get all officers across this country to respect and value Indigenous people.
Jackie: With your conversations with Judith and Joe, do you get the sense the family is going to push a lot further in this fight?
Brishti: I don't think this story's over by any means. The civil lawsuit with the police act complaint and the coroner's inquest, I think we're going to hear a lot more about Chantel Moore.
Judith (audio clip): We do intend to continue politically with all of the things that we feel need to be changed in the justice system so that this never happens again.
Jackie: Brishti, thank you so much for your work on this.
Brishti: Thanks for having me, Jackie.
Jackie: Joe also took the time to speak with Brishti to express his frustration over the prevalence of police shootings of Indigenous people in Canada.
Joe (audio clip): Police shootings of Indigenous peoples have been going on quite a bit. Because right up to eight days later, after Chantel was shot, this fellow Rodney Levi was shot over there at a village in New Brunswick, where we had a chance to go and visit. And then here at the village, a young man was shot dead by the RCMP, and he's this little guy, about 5 feet tall, for God's sake. And then my niece, Melinda Martin, was shot over there in Newfoundland. And she was telling her mom, she started speaking like two days ago, and apparently told her mom that while she was laying on the ground, this policeman was standing on her hand and broke her fingers.
Jackie: Judith also told Brishti what she hopes will happen going forward.
Judith (audio clip): I'm hoping that as we review this officer's actions that they see that he made some really bad calls, and he admits this in that report. They should look seriously at the viability of the police officer, and they may remove him from being a police officer. And from the coroner's report, I really hope, whatever evidence is in the coroner's report, that all aspects of what happened can be reviewed.
Jackie: For more on this story, you can read Brishti's online copy for the full story at capitaldaily.ca.