The killing of Leo LaChance, by Ron Bourgeault in Canadian Dimension, Mar/Apr94,

On a cold January 1991 night in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Leo LaChance, a Cree from Whitefish reserve near Big River, was shot and killed by Carney Milton Nerland. Nerland, a self-confessed fascist, was also the Saskatchewan leader of the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations. After a quick investigation Nerland was charged with manslaughter and in May 1991 was sentenced to a short four-year prison term with eligibility for statutory release after serving two-thirds of the time. On December 15, 1993 Nerland was released from Stony Mountain penitentiary and placed under a witness-protection program as an informant to the RCMP.

After Nerland was sentenced, there was an outpouring of public concern, particularly from the Aboriginal community, over how the affair was handled.

Many questions were asked. Why, after killing an Indian, was an avowed political racist charged with manslaughter instead of murder and sentenced to a short prison term? Why was there no trial and no opportunity for a court to publicly examine the crime and Nerland's political activities? Was there a cover-up by the justice system and where did the responsibility lie? Who was in the gun shop with Nerland when LaChance was shot? Was it Nerland who fired the fatal shot?

Over the course of a year, the suspicion that Nerland had received preferential treatment from the justice system mounted. The public was concerned about whether political racism existed and if the police, corrections and other justice officials in Prince Albert were involved in such organized activities.

At the time, the Conservative government resisted all public pressure for an investigation. The newly-elected NDP government (October 1991) ultimately capitulated to public pressure and established a commission of inquiry in April 1992, chaired by Judge E.N. Hughes.

Its official purpose was to inquire into and report on all relevant aspects of the justice system and organized racism as they related to the killing of LaChance and conviction of Nerland. But it also had an unofficial purpose; to dispel the growing public distrust and skepticism of the justice system.

The shooting and sentencing

Sometime after 6:00 p.m. on January 28, 1991, Leo LaChance entered the Prince Albert Northern Pawn and Gun Shop. In the shop were Carney Nerland, Gar Brown-bridge (an employee of the Saskatchewan Young Offenders Program), and Russell Yungwirth (a guard at the Prince Albert Correctional Centre). A fourth person, Roy McKnight (an employee of the Department of Natural Resources) had been in the shop but left a few minutes before LaChance entered. McKnight was previously a paratrooper with the Canadian Airborne Regiment, the same regiment that is now in Somalia and reported to have 24 white supremacists in it. While LaChance was in the shop, Nerland shot into the floor twice. Then, a few moments later, as he was leaving, LaChance was shot.

On January 30 the RCMP's Criminal Intelligence Division (CID) in Regina telephoned the Prince Albert police to tell them they had information that Nerland would flee Canada. That same day the Crown Prosecutor's office, in consultation with the Prince Albert police, decided manslaughter was the charge to proceed with. Later that day Nerland was arrested by the RCMP near Provost, Alberta, the site of a September 1990 Aryan Fest in which he participated. There are still Aryan members in Provost.

The decision to charge Nerland with manslaughter and not murder was made after only a day and a half investigation. The investigation relied heavily on the sworn statements of Nerland and his friends Brownbridge and Yungwirth who stated the shooting was an accident: Nerland did not know the rifle was loaded when, while putting it away, he pulled the trigger, shooting LaChance who was standing outside the door. It was concluded there was not enough evidence to show intent to kill.

On February 1 the CID met with the Prince Albert police and crown prosecutor where information on Nerland's political activities and the name of a police informant directly related to the case was disclosed. At this point, the police informant protection rule came to dominate both the case and the commission of inquiry into the killing. It was later revealed to the CBC during the inquiry that the informant was Carney Nerland.

In February Nerland made a request to be released on bail. This was denied as the judge felt he might receive a more serious charge. It was also still suspected that Nerland would go underground and flee to the United States. There was no further investigation and Nerland pleaded guilty, thereby denying a trial and the opportunity of a court to cross-examine his friends about the crime and delve into his organized political activities.

At Nerland's sentencing, the crown prosecutor took a lenient position. He agreed with the defence that the shooting was an accident and that a four-year term for manslaughter would be appropriate. Nerland's racial political ideology was dismissed as irrelevant to the shooting as well, despite Nerland's statement to a police officer "if I am convicted of killing that Indian, they should give me a medal and you should pin it on me." The sentencing judge stated that if there had been evidence linking Nerland's political views to the shooting, it would have justified a longer sentence. Then, strangely, the judge sentenced Nerland to the provincial Prince Albert Correctional Centre where he would have been in the company of his friends. He was later sentenced to the federal penitentiary at Stony Mountain in Manitoba.

The Inquiry and report

The primary focus of the inquiry was on the judicial process: how it was carried out and whether there were any irregularities. At no time was there an examination of systemic and institutionalized racism and its relationship to the justice system and the LaChance case. Nor was there any attempt to investigate and bring forth testimony on organized political racism.

In the hearings the Prince Albert police, crown prosecutor's office, and Justice Department officials said little beyond that they had followed the required procedures in the investigation and were restricted by the evidence in charging Nerland. Their testimonies read like individuals protecting their self-interest. At no time did they indicate that there were contradictions surrounding the shooting that would warrant further in-depth investigation and a more serious charge. Nerland's political affiliations were not seen as a contributing factor and therefore were not worthy of investigation.

The testimonies of the main actors in the gun shop varied little, giving the impression that they had rehearsed their stories to protect themselves and Nerland. Protected by the informant rule, Nerland's testimony offered little information. He was exempt from answering any questions on organized political racism, his relationship with the RCMP during the time of the investigation and charging, and his role as an informant.

There are many questions about the shooting that remain unanswered. Concerning the actual shooting, Nerland's testimony was consistent with that of his friends in the shop: after firing two test shots into the floor the rifle breech remained open. While putting the rifle away Nerland pulled the trigger to close the breech without knowing there was a third bullet in the barrel. The rifle was pointed at the door and the bullet passed through the door frame striking LaChance. Nerland claims he did not know that LaChance was standing outside the shop.

There is no confusion with this type of weapon; a Yugoslavian M-56 gas operated assault rifle. When the last shot has been fired the breech remains open and there is no bullet in either the magazine or barrel. Conversely, if the breech is closed, the rifle is loaded and ready to be fired again. Besides, as a member of the Aryan Nations, Nerland received extensive arms training including assault rifles. He would know the difference between an open and closed breech.

Other questions can be raised about the shooting. For instance, in his first statement to police Nerland declared that one of the other men in the shop did the shooting. At the inquiry there was testimony that as LaChance lay dying on the street he stated that, "it was the guy with the beard who shot me." Nerland did not have a beard at the time, but Yungwirth and McKnight did. These statements raise the possibility that it could have been somebody other than Nerland who fired the fatal shot. It is also possible then that LaChance was still inside the shop when he was shot.

Since Nerland was known as a white supremacist, was a decision made that night for him to be the fall guy to protect a clandestine organization? There was a witness prepared to testify that Nerland had engaged in political organizing from his shop. On different occasions he was introduced by Nerland to various people in the shop, including two of the gun shop boys, where race politics were being discussed.

Why was Nerland in the shop at 3:00 a.m. - the scene of the crime which was supposed to have been sealed - going through papers that were then passed on to McKnight? Why was Nerland given permission the next day by the police to travel to Alberta? Were organization membership lists and weapons being removed from Prince Albert? It is no coincidence that Aryan Nations members run gun shops.

The RCMP connection

There are also questions about the role of the RCMP in the case and its use of the informant protection rule. In the US there have been instances where the FBI has intervened with informancy protection to protect KKK informants from criminal prosecution. In Canada the informant protection rule is supported by a witness protection program which arranges for informants to receive not only reduced charges and prison time, but also a new identity. Did this happen with Nerland? To what extent did the RCMP used this rule to interfere in the investigation and the laying of charges against Nerland?

One wonders why the RCMP has been so diligent in their protection of Nerland. In the past year they have reneged on their commitment to two other informants, both in Ontario; one involved in drug dealings and the other in a biker gang. Was it because Nerland is extremely valuable, particularly for what he knows about white supremacist organization in the province?

In their report the commissioners conclude there were no irregularities committed by any of the parties involved in the justice process. The police and prosecutors acted with integrity and good faith throughout. The charge of manslaughter was deemed proper since no evidence could be found to support a more serious charge of murder. The commissioners stated that there was no evidence to link organized racism to the shooting and that white supremacist organization is not a threat in Saskatchewan. As a result, a further inquiry into such groups was not necessary. They drew their conclusion from the testimony of the RCMP officers, the same ones who were handling Nerland.

The commissioners do, however, direct some criticism at both police and crown prosecutors, mainly for their lack of "diligence" in investigating the crime. The commissioners believe they were too willing to accept the shooting as a simple accident and that Nerland's racist political views did influence his reckless behaviour in handling the rifle. In their view, had racial motivation as an aggravating factor been presented at sentencing, Nerland might have received a longer sentence.

The report makes two recommendations as solutions to the crime: that there be a Cree-speaking officer on duty at all times and that police officers receive cross-cultural training. These are hardly solutions to prevent what happened in Prince Albert from occurring again. LaChance is dead today precisely because he was an Indian who happened to walk into a gun shop where organized racial politics were operating, and where questionable persons gathered.

The killing was not a simple accidental homicide. As soon as the trigger was pulled politics came into play. The politics have to do with an informant and the value of that informant to the RCMP. Those politics in turn were legalized, knowingly or unknowingly, with a quick investigation and charge of manslaughter against Nerland. Within a period of three days, from the shooting to when the RCMP informed the Prince Albert police of an informant, the die was cast and Nerland became untouchable. The inquiry became nothing more than a playing out of legalized bigotry in the public arena. If justice has been served with this inquiry, then it is only in the interests of the justice system.

Nerland's political world

Nerland is a political racist whose ideology goes beyond a basic belief in white supremacy. In 1984, at the age of 18, Nerland joined the Church of Jesus Christ Christian Aryan Nations which allowed him to be a member of both the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Aryan Nations (AN). Nerland has also declared himself to be a National Socialist, or fascist, and a member of the National Socialist Workers Party. His joint membership reflects the close relationship between organized racism and fascism. In September 1989, Nerland was appointed head of the Saskatchewan Aryan Nations by national leader and fellow National Socialist, Terry Long.

Nerland became involved in a complex and clandestine network of extreme racist groups, individual fascists, and fascist organizations that operate across Canada and extend into the United States and Europe. In the 1980s these elements joined together to fine tune their ideology and build and adapt a fascist movement to reflect current conditions in North America. Their political strategy has been to move away from the narrow ultra-racism of white supremacy groups, which they see as deeply rooted and sectarian, toward a broader social movement. This movement popularizes racism by advocating white rights and addresses current social and economic issues with a focus on disillusioned and dispossessed white working and middle class people.

The Network

Today, this network has extended into centre and right-wing political parties and popular organizations such as anti-abortion groups and free speech/civil rights organizations. In the United States we see leaders like Tom Metzger (ex-KKK) with the White Aryan Resistance movement in California operating electorally in the Democratic party and advocating the development of a working class social base, including the politicization of skinheads. David Duke (ex-KKK) formed the National Association for the Advancement of White People, while operating electorally within the Republican Party.

In Ontario Wolfgang Droege (ex-KKK) and the Heritage Front, in alliance with the Church of the Creator (COTC) are involved in the Reform party. The COTC calls for a Racial Holy War (RAHOWA) to accomplish their goal of white supremacy. The COTC has been successful in organizing political skinheads throughout the United States and Canada. Presently, the COTC is operating in Western Canada, particularly in parts of British Columbia, and, according to sources, on the prairies.

In Toronto the Heritage Front has been directing propaganda specifically at working class high schools in an attempt to increase its social base. The Front, together with the COTC, is supporting the racist rock band, RAHOWA, in developing a racist culture among youth throughout southern Ontario.

It appears the Front has been successful in developing itself as a fascist formation. It has fashioned an organization linking politically disciplined skinheads (equivalent to the Nazi Freikorps, or roving street gangs), and an ideologized youth (Nazi Hitler-Jugend) with a class of "suits and ties" who do the thinking, directing and financing. The Heritage Front is not to be taken lightly. Whether it continues to grow or self-destructs over its tactics of violence and racism remains to be seen.

In Saskatchewan, contrary to the conclusions of the Hughes Commission, organization is happening. Reports from the Aryan Nations headquarters in Idaho disclose that Saskatchewan was to remain off-limits only until the commission blows over. There are also indications that the COTC has been operating in some high schools and universities. David Duke was in Regina in September 1991, and Rudy Stanko, an official with the COTC, was stopped by Canadian immigration from entering Saskatchewan at North Portal. Stanko was found to have six passports, two made out to himself and four blank. During this time, posters appeared in Regina advertising paramilitary training with an organization called The Warriors Edge. It has not been determined why Duke and Stanko were there and whether they were connected to each other or to the training organization.

Double agent?

In the past Nerland has expressed many of the policies of the new fascist movement with emphasis on white rights and the socio-economic conditions of the alienated working class. Nerland was relatively high in the hierarchy of the KKK and AN, and on personal terms with many leaders of the fascist and racist right in North America, including David Duke. Who he is, however, remains ambiguous. His tight protection suggests he is an informant of some value, not necessarily for what he has revealed but what he continues to know about the reaches of the organization.

From what is known, Nerland claims he left these organizations sometime before he was made leader of the Saskatchewan AN. One source has said that at the time of the shooting, he had been an informant with the FBI for six years and with the RCMP for two years. This may mean that the FBI passed him on to the RCMP. How he became an informant is unknown; it could have been voluntary or involuntary. In the case of the latter there is the possibility that he was "squeezed" by the police over some illegal act.

The question of Nerland as an informant has two sides. As a "one-way" informant it would be difficult for him to survive so long given his position in the hierarchy and his young age. These organizations have their own rigid internal surveillance. On the other hand, he could have been operating as a double agent, which means he informed his people of being squeezed. As a double agent he would have played the role of an informant to the police, providing them with minor information, while continuing to operate on an underground level. Nerland denied being a double agent at the inquiry.

Nerland has recently provided some guarded information. He has referred to his time in the KKK and AN as a "rape of my soul and mind," suggesting a reaction to their sectarian racism. Concerning his activities in Prince Albert, Nerland has said, "My field of operations were specific," suggesting that he was there specifically to deal with some racist activity. And on his role as an informant, he said, "If I was for real, I could have organized a serious Klan in Saskatchewan," meaning there was, and probably still is, a social base for organizing. One does not know if he was preventing organization or actually organizing on an underground level for the police. These questions are open to investigation.

Although Nerland claims to have left the KKK and AN and to have rejected racism, he has not necessarily repudiated fascism. In the few statements he has made about why he left these organizations, he still expresses an affinity for National Socialism and the order it brings to society. He does not express any concept of democracy. His alignment with the new fascism, if at all, is unknown. Perhaps what we see in Nerland is a fascist who is struggling with how fascism can be adapted to a pluralist society without understanding the role of racism in liberal democracy. How fascism can ever come about without racism remains to be seen.

One wonders if the RCMP understands who they have on their bands. One thing is certain, death is a frightening reality for Nerland.

Ron Bourgeault, a member of the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism, followed the Hughes Commission.

Natives demand Campbell probe trapper's death: Questions still surround slaying by Prince Albert white supremacist

by David Roberts, The Globe and Mail, July 3, 1991

PRINCE ALBERTA, Sask. -- Justice Minister Kim Campbell is being denounced for failing to respond to requests for a federal inquiry into the killing of an Indian man by a white supremacist neo-nazi.

"As long as there is no independent investigation, the situation in Prince Albert between Indians and non-Indians is going to get worse," A.J. Felix, Chief of the Prince Albert Tribal Council, said in an interview.

Leo LaChance was shot to death last Jan. 28 as he left the Northern Gun & Pawn Shop, owned by Carney Milton Nerland, the 25-year-old leader of the Saskatchewan chapter of the white supremacist Church of Jesus Christ Christian -- Aryan Nations.

Mr. LaChance, 48, a trapper from the Whitefish Indian reserve was unarmed, apparently trying to pawn a rifle that was at home.

Mr. Nerland, a firearms expert, fired two shots from a 7.62 mm assault rifle into the floor of the gun shop and then a third shot through the door as Mr. LaChance was leaving.

The native man staggered from the scene and collapsed in the snow. A passer-by found him cold and unconscious and asked Mr. Nerland for emergency use of his telephone, but was refused.

The neo-Nazi later insisted that he did not know the weapon was loaded and that the shooting was accidental. He pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison in April. The Crown did not appeal.

The sentencing judge said he could find no evidence that the gunshop owner's racist beliefs played a factor in Mr. LaChance's death.

But a number of unanswered questions have clouded the case, especially the question about the extent of Mr. Nerland's friendship with police officers and with federal and provincial corrections workers. The incident has done little to ease tensions between natives and non-natives in this community of 35,000. Prince Albert is about 35 per cent native.

Two corrections workers were in the gun shop at the time of the shooting. But they did not report the incident to police until nearly 24 hours later, after consulting their lawyers. A former jail guard offered to post bail for Mr. Nerland.

Police spoke to Mr. LaChance before he was flown to hospital in Saskatoon. Before dying, he apparently told them he did not know why he had been shot.

But Mr. Felix and other native leaders find this incredible. "If it was an accident, why was Leo trying to get away?" Mr. Felix asked. "I think there was one hell of an argument -- and he was murdered."

Mr. Felix, Gerald Morin of the Indian-Metis Friendship Centre and Prince Albert Mayor Gordon Kirkby all have written letters to Ms. Campbell asking for an independent inquiry into the shooting.

Their request have not been acknowledged, Mr. Felix said. Owen Lippert, a spokesman for Ms. Campbell, said the minister has insufficient staff to respond to all of the many letters she receives. As well, it is unclear Ms. Campbell has the jurisdictional responsibility to respond to requests for such an inquiry, Mr. Lippert said.

Mr. Felix said that, since the RCMP had peripheral involvement in the shooting investigation and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service monitors activities of groups such as the Aryan Nation, CSIS would be the most logical agency to undertake an inquiry.

Failing even to acknowledge receipt of the letters demonstrates a degree of arrogance on the part of non-native politicians, he said.

"Until this thing is settled I'm concerned my natives will have a police-native war," Mr. Felix said.

The fact Mr. Nerland returned to the gun shop hours after the shooting, ostensibly to retrieve business records, is suspicious, Mr. Felix suggested. Some people in Prince Albert have publicly wondered whether the records contained an Aryan Nations membership list.

Mr. Felix said there is growing speculation the gun shop records might contain what he described as a "Nazi hit list".

He noted there is at least one unsolved death of a native youth in the city. The body was found last year in the North Saskatchewan River, and Mr. Felix said lawyers are attempting to have it exhumed after a suggestion by the youth's family that he may have been shot and the circumstances covered up.

Former jail guard Roy McKnight, who offered to post bail for Mr. Nerland, said he is convinced the shooting was a tragic accident. "Nothing good came out of this," Mr. McKnight said. "Leo LaChance lost his life and Carney Nerland ruined his."

Coroner's inquest to probe Naistus death

By Dan ZakreskiSenior Reporter, Saskatchewan News Network, June 28, 2001

The provincial Justice Department is ordering a coroner's inquest into the suspicious death of 25-year-old Rodney Naistus in Saskatoon a year ago.

The department will make a similar announcement shortly in the death of 30-year-old Lawrence Wegner, who died under similar circumstances in the same area at the same time.

An RCMP task force is investigating the deaths of Naistus, Wegner and 17-year-old Neil Stonechild. Investigators recommended the coroner's inquest for Naistus after determining not enough evidence existed to warrant criminal charges.

Sources close to the task force say its members are frustrated by the 18-month investigation.

"They believe Naistus, (Lawrence) Wegner and (Neil) Stonechild got dropped by police, they just can't prove it," the source said.

"The bottom line is, if they don't get an admission or some information from an eyewitness there's nothing they can do until they go to the inquest."

The coroner has the power to compel individuals to testify under oath as to their role in the deaths of the men.

The task force passed along the Wegner file to Justice officials earlier this year. The RCMP members are still investigating Stonechild's death 10 years ago, the source said.

Naistus is the third coroner's inquest this year stemming from the death of a Native man in the city. This is the first inquest, however, where it's suspected police deliberately dropped off the person in freezing temperatures.

A passerby discovered Naistus's frozen and partially clothed body outside a feed plant on the southeastern edge of the city on Jan. 29, 2000.

In the previous inquest cases, Darcy Ironchild died of a drug overdose at home after his release from police cells. Lloyd Dustyhorn froze to death outside an apartment building after his release from police custody.

University of Saskatchewan law professor Norm Zlotkin says "the strength of an inquest is that it does get a lot of information before the public."

"The coroner is not supposed to directly lay blame on individuals, but nevertheless one can clearly see what's going on."

Key to the effectiveness of the inquest is who is allowed to call and question witnesses, Zlotkin said.

The problem with using an inquest under these circumstances is that the facts are in dispute. It's a more effective tool when it's examining an accepted practice, he said.

"It's very frustrating if the coroner can't determine how the men got to the edge of town," he said.

"We have a lot of witnesses who said they were dropped off outside of town and walked back to town. It's a notoriously common police practice everywhere. If you're looking at the death of a specific individual, then you still have to get that person out of town," he said.

"It's not an ideal way of discussing police behaviour. The key to the inquest may be witnesses that can link police officers with the deceased, even though the police officers are not identified and every officer has denied it.

"The fact that witnesses said three hours before he died, he was put in a police car on 20th Street, that would be enough to possibly get a coroner's jury to find that, as a fact, the deceased was taken by unknown police officers out of town and died from exposure," Zlotkin said.

The time, date and location of the Naistus inquest will be announced in the near future.

Lawrence Joseph, vice-chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, which has called for a sweeping public inquiry into the justice system, was not available Wednesday for comment.

'Blue veil of secrecy' alleged

By TANIS FOWLER of The Leader-Post, Friday, June 29, 2001

Vice-Chief Lawrence Joseph of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations said he believes the "blue veil of police secrecy" is alive and well in Saskatoon.

Joseph, speaking in Regina Thursday, was reacting to Wednesday's announcement by the provincial government to hold a coroner's inquest into last year's suspicious death of Rodney Naistus, 25, in Saskatoon. Investigators recommended an inquest into the death after determining there was insufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges.

"I am frustrated, I am angry because it's the system that we live under and somebody knows something within the Saskatoon Police Service, and they're not saying it," Joseph said.

An RCMP task force is investigating the deaths of Naistus, Lawrence Wegner, 30, and Neil Stonechild, 17. The men were found frozen to death on the outskirts of Saskatoon in separate incidents. Joseph said there may be only circumstantial evidence of police involvement in the deaths of Naistus and Wegner, but he believes the whole story is not being told.

"We know darn well that this is a suspicious death. We know somebody did wrong," he argued.

He also referred to allegations by Darrell Knight that he was apprehended by Saskatoon police and dropped off in frigid weather outside the city in January 2000. Dan Hatchen and Ken Munson, veteran Saskatoon constables, are to go on trial this fall on charges of assault and unlawful confinement in connection with the alleged incident.

Native man who fought with Regina police dies

Officer uses pepper-spray on man in ambulance

By Mike O'Brien
Saskatchewan News Network, July 12, 2001

REGINA - Regina police are investigating the case of an aboriginal man who died Tuesday after he was pepper-sprayed in a fight with a police officer in the back of an ambulance.

When the ambulance arrived at the Regina General Hospital, Vernon Dale Crowe was declared dead. Moments before his altercation with ambulance staff and the police, the 32-year-old had suffered an apparent epileptic seizure inside the Souls Harbour Mission.

"Something terrible happened in the ambulance, and I don't know what," mission director Gerri Carroll said Wednesday.

"You see a healthy person walk out of here, and then they're dead."

She said Crowe, who had discussed his epilepsy with her before, was at the mission for a free supper Tuesday when he had a seizure. Staff rolled him on his side until it passed.

An ambulance had already been called and Crowe agreed to go with it, she said.

"He was a bit shaken, but emotionally he was together. He was not angry." That changed when Crowe suddenly became "combative" with staff in the back of the ambulance, Regina police Chief Cal Johnston told reporters. "It had to do with attending the hospital."

The ambulance staff called police twice in a two-minute span. When the first officer on the scene tried to restrain the patient, Crowe bit and head-butted him, Johnston said.

"At that point, the officer deployed pepper spray."

Three more police officers arrived. Police accompanied Crowe to hospital, the chief said.

The major crimes unit is investigating the death and will turn its findings over to the Justice Department and to the coroner, Johnston said. An autopsy was held Wednesday but the results weren't known.

Johnston said police are taught a range of restraining techniques, including arm holds, pepper spray and the police baton. They often have little time to decide which one to use.

"You have to remember the reason police were called. There were hazards already to paramedics and to this person's own safety. Officers are making very quick decisions around those circumstances as to what an appropriate response would be."

Johnston acknowledged there are conflicting reports about the effect of pepper spray on its target.

"There is no doubt that pepper spray may affect someone who has aggravating medical factors that a police officer may not be aware of at the time that it is deployed," he said.

(REGINA LEADER-POST)

History: 1903 case convicting persons for practicing Sundance

Continuing coverage of the Saskatoon Police transition

Aboriginal peoples and residential schools | Leonard Peltier | Darryl Night | Frozen Ghosts | Dudley George | Michael Dorris