11/16/07

More Dead Aboriginals in Police Custody :: Allegations of racism loom on first day of inquiry

Thanks to my brother Angry Indian for this
http://angryindian.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-dead-aboriginals-in-police-custody.html

As you know in Strayaliea Aboriginal murder in police custody & police racism are huge concerns. Much love , respect & solidarity to the families and relations of Frank Joseph Paul.


globeandmail.com: Allegations of racism loom on first day of inquiry

VANCOUVER -- Before Frank Joseph Paul was dragged out of a city jail like "garbage," and left in a back alley, where he died of hypothermia, he had been picked up by police 230 times for drunkenness, assault and disturbing the peace.

Now, nine years after he was left lying in the rain on a cold December night, instead of being housed in the Vancouver Police Department drunk tank or sent to a detoxification centre, some big and troubling questions are being raised about Mr. Paul's last time in custody.

As an independent commission of inquiry began yesterday into Mr. Paul's death, it became clear the issue is not just the mechanics of how the alcoholic, 47-year-old Mi'kmaq died on Dec. 5, 1998, but whether the police actions and a broader social safety net failed him because of racism.

"Why was Frank Paul left in an alley to die? Was it because he was aboriginal?" asked Kimberley Murray of Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, who is attending because the issue is of national interest.
------------------------------------------------------
First witness at inquiry seeks answers regarding death of native

First witness at inquiry seeks answers regarding death of native: "The family of Frank Paul, the New Brunswick native who died after police left him in a Vancouver alley in 1998, wondered how such a thing could happen. Peggy Clement, the 47-year-old's cousin, was the first witness to give evidence Tuesday in Vancouver during the opening of the public inquiry looking into the death of Paul in the Downtown Eastside."
-------------------------------------------------
Paul put out to die like 'garbage' cousin tells inquiry

Paul put out to die like 'garbage' cousin tells inquiry: "VANCOUVER -- Nine years ago Frank Paul, 45, an aboriginal man and a chronic alcoholic, died drunk, cold and alone in an Downtown Eastside alley where he had been dumped by the driver of a police wagon. He died of hypothermia, freezing to death behind a detox centre in soaking wet clothes. On Tuesday a full scale public inquiry into Mr. Paul's death began after years of lobbying by aboriginal groups and others in the Downtown Eastside."

No comments: