Sergeant at Fairy Creek Blockade Found to Have History of Disrespect, Mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples, Documents Show
Some names have been withheld or changed to protect their identity
On May 17th, 2021 enforcement began in what would become the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. The RCMP arrived at Caycuse—the most remote camp, in what is colloquially known as the Fairy Creek blockade.
The RCMP’s Division Liaison Team (DLT) met with the liaisons from camp. Repeatedly the liaisons asked DLT to clarify what was going to happen so that they could relay information to the remaining protesters. This information was promised earlier by the DLT so that protesters could decide what was safe for them.1 The liaison's requests were rebuffed and most information being asked, the DLT claimed they weren’t privy to. The DLT claimed they would happily introduce the liaisons to the commanding officer when they arrived, promising he would provide those details. This fruitless interaction shifted when a few more officers marched towards the gate and the DLT gestured that the man leading this pack was the commanding officer. The officer didn’t look at or acknowledge the DLT or the police liaisons talking to them and walked directly up to Val Embree, holding a sign, and Mitchell, a young man with a guitar, sitting on a stump.
“My name is Sgt. Jason Charney of the RCMP…” he goes on to read the injunction and inform those present they are in violation of it and will be subsequently arrested. Sgt. Charney’s eyes don’t move from the paper he’s reading from. He turns around and walks away, looking nowhere.
'Rose', one of the police liaisons recalled, “he just came walking down the hill, like a bulldog, arrogant. He didn’t look at us, didn’t look at the DLT, grabbed a megaphone, proceeded to rush to the first arrestees, reading the injunction. Even though my expectations of the police are very low, I still felt a lot of anger and like the DLT threw us under the bus. I felt like at that point they thought their job was over.”
A few days later photographer asked another officer, Cst. D. Tsui, why Sgt. Charney doesn’t wear a mask, “Charney is so badass that the COVID virus runs from him.”2
The RCMP have a documented history of mistreatment of racialized peoples. Overall the Fairy Creek blockade is settler led. Would the difference in treatment be so apparent? Would the whiteness of the movement protect its most vulnerable members? Unfortunately none of these hopes panned out. A few days after the RCMP arrived, Kati George-Jim, niece of Pacheedaht elder Bill Jones, was violently arrested at Caycuse along with an ally who tried to protect her.
Only a week into enforcement the tone had been set. This is when I had the idea to file Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests for relevant complaint history on certain officers. When I received the documents it provided a historical context for everything I was witnessing. What I didn't know then, was how many officers would come through camp and just how common their violence would be. Despite the prevalence of police violence, Sgt. Charney is the only officer discovered (so far) to have a history of misconduct.
Sgt. Charney is a member of the BC RCMP's Community Industry Response Group, or C-IRG for short. It is an opaque unit, founded in 2017 "to provide strategic oversight addressing energy industry incidents and related public order, national security and crime issues."3 It is unique to BC, but its officers may enlist from anywhere in the country. The intersection of 'energy industry incidents and related public order' is poorly coded language for conflicts between indigenous peoples and extractive industries on unceded land. They have maintained a presence in Wet'suwet'en territory, at Tiny House Warriors in Secwepemc and the Fairy Creek blockade, on unceded Pacheedaht territory.
Sgt. Charney's intimidation and aggression was meant for everyone present, officers included. I’ve witnessed him berating and belittling fellow officers while walking towards a line of protesters on the road to Caycuse camp. During this interaction I witnessed a young boy stand on the road, refusing to move. Officers pleaded with the boy and then his parent to convince him to move aside, not under threat of arrest but out of fear for what their commanding officer might do. I'd met this boy many times at Caycuse, he has a warrior's spirit. The boy's parents managed to convince him to move aside, but only because his grandparent was willing to be arrested in his place. Sgt. Charney led his phalanx of officers forward, screaming at the ones who fell out of position, retaking the road and arresting the ones who remained. He appeared to possess only temper and nothing less would do from his subordinates.
'Frog', describes his experience with Sgt. Charney as ‘extremely aggressive.’ Charney was pushing the exclusion zone line, when he grabbed him and pushed him towards a police wagon. The officer was visibly surprised and asked “what’s that about?” but Sgt. Charney walked away ignoring the officer's request for clarification. He told the officer he didn’t know why Sgt. Charney grabbed him. The officer told ‘Frog’ “I’m unsure if you’re actually under arrest or not [...] just go into the wagon, stay there for a bit, don’t do anything. If it looks like I'm not putting you in there, my commanding officer is gonna lose it.”
Sgt. Charney has twice been documented snatching members of the media, Colin Smith, and Neil “IBM” Bourne. Bourne, an independent videographer, was able to evade him, but Smith was arrested. Smith is best known as the friendliest and most popular photographer in Victoria. His work is available in Victoria Buzz, Capital Daily, and on instagram. Smith's arrest was a shock to everyone who has been reporting from the frontlines. The Canadian Association of Journalists issued a statement condemning the arrest:
“The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) strongly condemns the recent arrest of a photojournalist by RCMP officers at the Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island. The CAJ is dismayed by the actions of the RCMP, which took place just days after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered police not to interfere with media access absent a bona fide operational reason for doing so”
It’s important to note that other sergeants are not without blame. Sgt. Charney usually works one week on, one week off. Sgt. Reddy was in charge during the excessively violent arrests at Waterfall camp. A different sergeant was responsible during the week officers were seen pulling peoples masks down to pepper spray them. Sgt. Reddy was also in charge for both of my arrests.
For new readers, I was arrested twice for crossing the exclusion zone. My first arrest was symbolic, in protest. The second one I was allowed to film behind the line after Judge Thompson's decision to amend the injunction. Despite being allowed to film the whole day behind the line, one officer took it upon himself to push me back behind the line. I declined his request. During those two days I found Sgt. Reddy combative, confrontational, dismissive and rude but I never feared him.
The day of my last interaction with Sgt. Charney was August 14th. It is speculated that he ordered a helicopter to perform a low altitude flyover of a group of protesters marching away from camp. This kicked up an enormous cloud of dust that engulfed the group. In the crowd were children and families. He had watched the group march past him twice and had to be aware of its makeup. When I shared this footage I had firefighters and people who work with the Transport Safety Board contact me to say how despicable it was. To them it felt like a gross misuse of government resources. I have been unable to confirm the order came from Charney, but discussions with other reporters and industry personnel has led me to believe it was an operational decision—a command, which is far more likely than a rogue helicopter pilot.
David Furlonger (@furryfurrylonglong), tree nerd and photographer observes, "When they say 'Community Industry Response Group', it suggests there's some kind of community engagement. I don't get that feeling with Charney. Other Sergeants, even Reddy, seem to listen to both sides. [Charney] doesn't want any part of what's going on at all. He's there to be a cop, he's not there to de-escalate, he's not there to resolve any conflict. He's here to arrest and move bodies off the mountain and doesn't care how it happens."
On September 28th B.C. Supreme Court Justice Thompson denied the application to renew Teal Cedar's injunction against the blockaders. RCMP left later that day and did not return with the same numbers until mid October. Many of the C-IRG members showed up in Wet'suwet'en territory.
The people of Wet’suwet’en have been resisting the Coastal Gaslink pipeline. It is also the site of two RCMP raids that were public relations disasters for the government. Preceding the 2019 raid, C-IRG had requested authorization to use lethal overwatch. During the 2020 raid officers pointed loaded weapons at peaceful land defenders. These raids also precipitated the #shutdowncanada protests that debilitated railway infrastructure across the country. Those blockades only ended when covid-19 brought the country to a halt, briefly.
A recent video from Wet'suwet'en showed Sgt. Charney draining cisterns of drinking water and telling anyone nearby if they interfered they would be arrested.4 Speaking with Jen Wickham, media coordinator for Gidimt'en checkpoint, they confirmed that he was the only officer without a mask, walking around the site right up to the faces of media and legal observers.
In a phone call with Wickham, I asked if she had any comment about Sgt. Charney's behaviour, since he was becoming a known figure on the frontlines in British Columbia, "Nobody should be surprised by sergeants like Charney. The RCMP was created to remove indigenous people from their lands and they continue to do their job. He is fulfilling his role as an RCMP officer, and protecting Canada as an institution."
***
In June I filed ATIP requests with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) for a number of officers who I have witnessed being extremely aggressive and confrontational at the blockades. I received Sgt. Charney's full complaint history in the middle of September. I wasn't surprised by what I found because I had seen him in the field and what I read matched the experiences of protesters, Indigenous people and other members of the media I spoke to.
I received a total of 8 complaints, dated from 2009 to 2021. I requested records that were able to be retrieved within a reasonable amount of time. There may be complaints still under investigation, or records not digitized. Complaints relevant to the blockades would also be excluded from my request. One unexpected observation I had is that during interactions where Sgt. Charney wasn't the primary officer involved his behaviour was so offensive and obstructive that complainants decided to include him in their complaint. It didn't matter whether you were a suspect, a parent, a lawyer or someone who called 911 seeking help, you were treated the same.
May, 2021 the parent of an Indigenous child in Chilliwack filed a complaint; they discovered their child had been arrested then taken to the hospital where they were admitted to the psych ward for 3 days. They learned this from their child's friend and were not notified by the police that their child, a minor, had been admitted apparently for self harm. Upon learning this information they headed straight to the local RCMP detachment and were met by Sgt. Charney. He was 'instantly rude', when asked why they weren't notified of their child's detainment. He allegedly responded, "I don't know, I don't really care [...] Good luck with that", then smirked and slammed the door on her face. The parent concluded in their complaint, "I honestly do feel that I have been completely violated of my human rights because of my race being Native."
June, 2015 a complainant who called 911 to report an assault added, "I would also file a complaint regarding [...] the supervisor because I lacked the confidence in the first officer due to her narrative she created. When her supervisor did return my call, [Charney] was extremely confrontational and defensive, going as far as accusing me of keeping details from his officer."
In a complaint from September, 2009, then constable Charney was attempting to locate someone wanted on a bench warrant. Over a period of ten days he "came to the complainant's residence about three times a day and during the night, looking for [redacted]." He was rude and insulted the complainants. They found this offensive as he was acting this way in front of witnesses. They called his supervisor, Sgt. Blake, who assured them that Cst. Charney would return and apologize. He came back and called them a liar for making the complaint. The complainant never heard from Sgt. Blake or Cst. Charney again. This isn't the only time Sgt. Charney has harassed someone at their home.
August, 2009, a complaint filed by someone who has been targeted with repeated box 1 and box 2 inspections showed a pattern of harassment. Their vehicle was towed from a designated parking spot in a private complex. They had to purchase a new vehicle which was then given a box 2 shortly after. They have been patted down by Cst. Charney on more than one occasion, they are terrified to leave their house. They tried complaining to their local Chilliwack detachment, but were told they can't do anything since he is from Surrey RCMP. Charney is essentially operating with impunity in this scenario. The complainant has gone through three vehicles in four months.
These box 1 and box 2 inspections have legitimate use cases but are often used as a form of targeted harassment and intel gathering in conflict areas. They were used in Wet'suwet'en, and members of their community had to take vehicles off the road because they couldn't afford the expense.5
I was also the target of one, when my truck was followed out of Lake Cowichan by an unmarked police vehicle, then pulled over by a second uniformed officer. This came 36 hours after I had requested comment from the Lake Cowichan detachment on the treatment of two young women in their custody. The sum is that of the initial ticket, the cost of replacing or repairing the infraction and the inspection afterwards. In my case, the total came to around $1500, for what was primarily a crack in my windshield greater than than four inches.
The longest and most troubling complaint is from April, 2019, filed by the guardian of an Indigenous youth arrested for alleged public drunkenness and breaking bottles. During the arrest, they were told they matched the description of someone 'wearing a hoodie.' When they were picked up from the detachment by their guardian, the severity of the injuries sustained during their arrest were seen, and they were immediately taken to the hospital. They did not smell of alcohol, or show signs of intoxication. Police provided no evidence that the youth was under the influence of alcohol. At no point during their detainment were they given any medical attention. They were denied an opportunity to speak to legal counsel, or to an adult of choice. The complainant examined the location the youth was arrested and found no signs of broken glass.
The complainant only interacted with Sgt. Charney via three phone calls. After the youth was released, they determined one of their AirPods was left in the cell, or somewhere in the detachment while they were detained.
On the first phone call, a defence lawyer was also present, and Sgt Charney claims he had been to the cell block and was unable to locate the AirPod. On the second call, fifteen minutes later he indicated he tried a second time and was unable to locate the AirPod. He also advised them that the youth signed a document stating they received the belongings they arrived with.
The final call came another fifteen minutes later and Sgt. Charney indicated he viewed cell block video showing the youth receiving their belongings, dropping both AirPods to the ground, picking them up and putting them in their pocket. When asked if the footage could be viewed he denied the request. He deflected, telling the complainant they could file a request with another division, but would not say which. Also suggested they call another supervisor, but would not leave a message for them to call the complainant.
The complainant observed in their report, "I have only provided the objective version of the calls with Charney. However I note that my overall impression of these conversations was not positive in nature. I found Officer Charney to be close-minded and condescending, concluding that [redacted] was intoxicated or drunk, and that as a result they had lost their property after their release."
Sgt. Charney is not the only officer of note at Fairy Creek. I received Sgt. Reddy's complaint history as well. He has none, at least within the parameters I requested. What I did find was a 2006 CBC article about an assault in Coquitlam.6 The assault was serious enough that charges were brought forward, something rare for off duty officers. It was constables Dennis Reddy and Darryl Tsui. I believe it is the same D. Tsui quoted earlier, but I have not been able to confirm this detail.
On September 28th, Judge Thompson declined to renew Teal Cedar's injunction against the blockaders. He noted that the majority of police enforcement has been appropriate, but did "show disquieting lapses in reasonable crowd control." Judge Thompson also noted the dangerous nature of a police force with identification hidden—that being known to the public was part of their duty.
I understand the limitations of the court and that Thompson absolutely cannot view all the relevant evidence before him. Yet I have lost count of the number of traumatic brain injuries and broken bones suffered by protesters during extractions. This may be a lesson for those of us in the media who avoid creating 'trauma porn', the sort of coverage that amplifies brutality and suffering. Reading Thompson refer to enforcement as largely safe has given me pause since his decision.
***
Police violence at Fairy Creek has been faceless and commonplace. Officers hid their identification to avoid accountability. Not Sgt. Charney, from day one he always had his name tag on. It is clear he doesn't fear accountability, he knows that it doesn't exist for officers like him. He brings to his job a history of intimidation, harassment and aggression. He is an intrinsic member of C-IRG, we've seen that from Fairy Creek to Wet'suwet'en, he is the tip of their spear.
It's hard not to address the 'few bad apples' cliche when discussing police misconduct. I would not blame someone for coming to the conclusion that sergeant Jason Charney is an outlier after reading this article—one officer among hundreds, ill-equipped to handle the stress and traumas of his job. Perhaps he is a man in need of recovery and therapy, like so many of us. But he is no bad apple. He is simply the officer I received the most complaints for in my requests. More will likely come as I continue this work.
We know the CRCC is toothless to actually force change, made clear in the aftermath of their 2020 report regarding enforcement in Wet'suwet'en. Beyond the CRCC's recommendations, the police are still not respecting Judge Thompson's amendments to the injunction. When officers encourage citizens to file complaints or tell the media that everyone is free to file a complaint if they have concerns about their treatment, it is because they know it makes them look accountable. When the RCMP are free to ignore their independent complaint commission, as well as the BC Supreme Court, what recourse is left?
***
This project began by submitting ATIP requests in June, barely a month after enforcement had begun at Caycuse. It was never intended to be about one particular officer. Sgt. Charney stood out, but so did many others. Actual police enforcement looked very different then too. It was more peaceful then. Joining C-IRG is voluntary, as many officers point out. Arrests became more violent as time went on and some officers stopped coming back. It was noticed.
There has been one constant, from May 17th until now and that is Sgt Charney. I had no idea then that that would be the case. I didn't know what his complaint history would look like. I didn't know that some officers would have no complaint history. The complaints I received for Sgt. Charney as well as the targeting of racialized people at Fairy Creek7, combined with his recent actions in Wet'suwet'en, two conclusions that must be drawn:
Sgt. Charney has a consistent record of aggression, harassment and misconduct, as well as a disrespect for Indigenous peoples and has shown this to be true, repeatedly.
Sgt. Charney is perfectly suited to his job, targeting and removing Indigenous peoples from their land.
One has to wonder, why would someone with this attitude and history be in such a powerful position. If the RCMP are honourable, it is by accidental lack of oversight.
Judge Thompson observed during the renewal application that the status quo wasn't working and I would agree. It isn't working for anybody. There must be a better way forward. No matter which side you are on, we must recognize that this conflict is unhealthy for us as a society, and requires resolution. One step in the direction of peace would be disciplining Sgt. Charney for his behaviour, and reassignment in the spirit of reconciliation.
One of the complaints ended their report succinctly and simply, "My dealing with Jason Charney was an example of why First Nations people distrust the RCMP. [...] I was left with the impression that he was biased and unfair. It is a fundamental right in this country that every person enjoys the right to be innocent until proven guilty. A First Nation person in my position should not be left with this feeling in an era where the public is told that the RCMP is committed to reconciliation. The First Nations people of this country deserve better."
This is inside the purview of the role of the DLT officers, in my experience with them at the blockades.