Cop Runs Over Native Woman at Tachie Reserve

By Sam G.
May 1, 2007
Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

On August 20, 2006, Agatha Joseph, was run over by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer who was driving away from what the cops called an "aggressive" crowd outside a wedding party on the Tachie reserve of the Dakelh Nation in northern British Columbia. The RCMP itself later confirmed to the media that Joseph had been run over by the police officer.

Staff Sgt. John Ward of RCMP E Division Headquarters in Vancouver described the incident to the Prince George Citizen newspaper:

"There [were a] number of intoxicated persons and one person attempted to leave in a vehicle... The members [police] were trying to stop the vehicle. A number of the partygoers blocked their path and were very aggressive towards them, throwing rocks and bottles. The members determined they should leave the area and as they were attempting to do that, a crowd formed close to the police truck... [the officer] is certain Joseph was not struck by the police vehicle... What has to be determined is how she came to be under the rear wheel... The crowd was even more aggressive... Realizing they [the cops] weren't going to be able to provide assistance, they repositioned themselves out of harm's way and let ambulance paramedics attend."

Tachie residents described the event differently, saying that Joseph's cousin Harvey Felix Jr., was hit by a police vehicle just before she was, but police say they were unaware of this. The RCMP also said that the officer who ran over Joseph was unaware his vehicle had come into contact with her until after she'd been run over.

The Prince George Citizen quoted Paul Felix, uncle to both youths, as saying:

"There was a wedding going on... The RCMP was driving around with no headlights on... He struck Harvey first, a group went after the police, and as the police tried to take off in their trucks, he struck Agatha... He's been driving around like that for a long time. He's been reported before, but he keeps doing it, all the time."

On August 31, the Caledonia Courier newspaper reported Joseph as being listed in serious condition at Prince George Regional Hospital after suffering severe injuries, including a broken hip, ribs and collar bone, as well as lacerations to her scalp and an unspecified injury to her left eye.

In the Courier, Band Council Chief Thomas Alexis said that he was told by reserve residents at the scene that an ambulance, called to rush Joseph to hospital, was held back by police for more than an hour before being allowed into the area.

Three separate police investigations were reportedly launched at the end of August over the incident. One to look into the actions of the crowd, a second for the injury of Joseph and an internal investigation into the conduct of the unnamed officer.

On December 4, the Prince George Citizen reported that Joseph had been in hospital for over 106 days since the incident.

"She's had four operations right now and another one coming on her eye," said her uncle Paul Felix, "She's had two surgeries for her hips, one of them just on Friday."

Joseph contracted pneumonia while at the Prince George Regional Hospital, was transferred to a Fort St. James hospital and then back to Prince George for hip surgery.

The Prince George Citizen reported on December 22 that RCMP officials were refusing to make public the results of their internal investigation of the incident. The rationale given was that public disclosure might threaten potential criminal or civil court actions by tainting evidence.

For public relations, and to oversee the investigation, the cops called in Ed John, the Grand Chief of the Summit of First Nations and also the head of two forestry companies in Dakelh territory. John was formerly a practicing lawyer, a provincial cabinet minister, the Tachie/Tl'azt'en band council chief and the Chief Treaty Negotiator for the Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council. Now a Vancouver resident, John told the Prince George Citizen that the RCMP's decision to keep the investigation results under wraps was for the "protection of everyone".

The First Nations Summit is a government-funded organization that promotes the BC Treaty Process, a legal scam intended to legitimize the prior theft of Native land and to ease the way for further corporate plunder.

Ed John was a signee to a 2005 "Public Saftey" protocol agreement between the First Nations Summit, BC Assembly of First Nations, Union of BC Indian Chiefs and the RCMP. These government-funded Native organizations committed to providing the RCMP with information in order to "avert or help resolve crisis or conflict" in Native communities. Of course, the greatest possible crisis or conflict the RCMP or Canadian government could face arising from Native communities would be indigenous resistance to the police, the state and corporate expansion.

As of May 1, 2007, no criminal or civil court actions over the Tachie incident have been reported.

Link:

BC Treaty Monster Grows 3 Heads
(Warrior Publications)

Insurrectionary Anarchists of the Coast Salish Territories