Dawson City vigil planned for Toronto victim of fall
Some Dawson City residents plan to hold a solidarity vigil for Regis Korchinski-Paquet and what organizers call “other victims of state-sanctioned violence” on Saturday.
Some Dawson City residents plan to hold a solidarity vigil for Regis Korchinski-Paquet and what organizers call “other victims of state-sanctioned violence” on Saturday.
Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Afro-Indigenous woman seeking mental health support, fell to her death from her high-rise apartment building May 27 while Toronto police officers were on the premises.
A vigil was held last Friday in downtown Whitehorse.
Police have said the death is under investigation, and have not publicly explained the circumstances behind Korchinski-Paquet’s fall. They have asked Toronto residents not to draw premature judgments before the investigation’s results are made public.
“This mobilization aims to contribute to the Canadian and American movements to recognize and dismantle anti-black racism and systemic white supremacy,” said a statement released today by co-organizers Ismaël Franklin-Dorion and Lana Welchman.
Korchinski-Paquet’s death, the statement said, “is yet another example of state-sanctioned police brutality and violence against black and Indigenous people.
“Her death comes at a time when protests across Canada and the United States erupt over the disregard for black lives and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAfee and many more at the hands of police and white vigilantes.”
“Slavery, in Canada and other British Colonies, officially ended in 1834, but the subjection of black bodies persists, and we, in the 21st century, still live in a world that is shaped by this traumatic experience,” added Franklin-Dorion, the spokesperson for the event.
“The result being the continued devalorization of black lives and black bodies.
“Black people, in the wake of chattel slavery, are now heavily criminalized, and in Canada, as of 2018, black Canadians were over-represented in federal prisons by more then 300 per cent vs. their population.
“Armed or not, guilty or not, black people are seen as vectors of criminality, and their blackness is perceived as a weapon and a reason to hurt and kill,” Franklin-Dorion added.
In respect of Korchinski-Paquet’s family’s wishes, the statement said, “We ask that this event be peaceful. That being said, this is not a condemnation of any other form of protest against racism.
Thesocially-distant vigil will begin at noon at Dawson’s town hall, then proceed to the RCMP detachment.
The event will be supported by onsite counsellors and volunteers.
Comments (15)
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Groucho d'North on Jun 10, 2020 at 12:50 pm
@ Salt
I appriciate your position on the real world situations law enforcement officers may find themselves in and I agree that sometimes the events of the moment dictate the required actions, but thankfully these are not as frequent as some believe. I was speaking in general terms whereas you went straight to the worst case scenario, again which happens much less, or it did before our society became the violent way it is moving towards.
Police work is team work and also includes dispatch who gather info on the situation they are responding to and relay to the responding officers who all too often are working without the benefit of another officer with them.
But training does include responding or REACTING to urgent situations that demand the officer choose from what tools on his/her belt to use. My position is that better training will help to prevent some situations from pressurizing into potentially violent outcomes. Lethal force should be a last resort after non-lethal options have been exhausted or proved to be ineffective.
And while we're at it, I also believe LEOs should have better training for that sad shift when they have to knock on a door and inform some parents that their child will never be coming home again.
I know a number of police officers personaly and this is an area where they feel they could use greater support as with all PTSD situations born from their work.
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Wilf Carter on Jun 10, 2020 at 12:39 am
Have you heard and seen what police officers face and their families? Look what happened in NS, officer killed. Look at all officers killed in AB. How many police have given their lives to keep us safe? Talk to family member of a killed officer and ask them how they feel? Ask a child of a policeman who goes out the door and may not come back. All lives matter.
Don't let people work you up because it is just bad political actions. I have family in the MIddle East, China, Japan Europa, etc., and we all have the same color blood. Think about it. Go get a blood transfusion like I did last fall to stay alive. What color person that blood came from does not matter other than I thank those people for helping me to live.
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Salt on Jun 8, 2020 at 8:18 pm
@Groucho
Funny you would think that the RCMP are not aware of verbal judo. Do you really believe that, in the majority of lethal force situations, police officers have the time/opportunity to cycle through all the levels of threat response? These officers aren't Chuck Norris. When there is an imminent threat to life, lethal force is imperative, not optional. If officers are consistently erring on the side of non-lethal control methods in situations that reasonably call for lethal force, it will result in a number of them being murdered and possibly additional civilian casualties. If a police officer was the only thing standing between you and a person with a knife that intended to attack you, do you want that officer to take out his mace, his asp, or his gun?
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drum on Jun 8, 2020 at 7:38 pm
Get your facts straight before you have protest.
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Patti Eyre on Jun 8, 2020 at 12:22 pm
JC do you mean like all the colours of the rainbow? That's so sweet.
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JC on Jun 8, 2020 at 11:36 am
Marie-Claire. If your life was being threatened, like that black girl in Toronto, would you call for police help, even if you were sure he/she/they were white officers? Just asking out of curiosity.
By the way, fact: a neighbour of the girl, heard the abusive behaviour and phoned the police to come to her aid. I'm sure the neighbour - race or color not mentioned - didn't know what color or race the police would be. She was only concerned with a young girl that she believed needed help. If she had of just minded her own business, maybe the family members would have killed her.
So, let's focus on the reason the neighbour phoned for police help. Don't, like so many people of colour, make this sound like a police brutality case. And also assume the cops were white. The Toronto Police force have officers of all colours and race.
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Marie-Claire Findlay-Brook on Jun 6, 2020 at 10:15 pm
Hi "iBrian" (why doesn't anyone use your name on here?)
To respond to your "If the police come to your house in Carcross, and you run into the forest to evade the authorities, and you get eaten by a bear. Is everyone going to hold a vigil for you?"
If the police were responding to a mental health emergency and the person who died was a racialized member of a community that is persistently abused by the police/state, then yes, we would hold a vigil.
I'm still not really sure why everyone is so worked up about a little peaceful critique aimed at the police (like, are you all cops commenting on here?), since it's a pretty Yukon thing to be critical of the government and government agencies (maybe rather than cops, you are from Ottawa?).
"BOMBING them with bottles and objects from their balcony’s in the high rises" is a little melodramatic, unless cops died from bottles, did cops die from bottles?
Several commenters here seem to whip through the description of the event, rushing past nuances in their enthusiasm to comment. This practice is kind of making an ASS out of U and ME.
"State-sanctioned violence" doesn't mean l.i.t.e.r.a.l.l.y. murder, though we have yet to know that it is conclusively not murder (so let's all chill), it's referring to the disturbing way that many, if not most, government agencies (RCMP included), disproportionately mistreat and abuse (often very intentionally) both Black and Indigenous members of our communities. With the added injustice (literally), that these victims are some of the least likely to see (or their families see) charges laid, and even if they are, the perpetrators often receive far below average jail time (if any at all). This is not opinion, or belief, or conspiracy, it's all based on credible and well published statistics that can be found on the internet.
Back to Regis. As I mention above, when we say "state-sanctioned violence", that does not specifically indicate they they murdered her, it more generally means that their involvement very (very) likely lead to her death. I don't know why it's so surprising to people that police are, on a whole, not very good at de-escalating situations. Whether it's due to insufficient training, or the unfortunate element of abusive people being drawn to positions of power, police are not known for their nuanced response to the wide variety of crisis they are called to.
And hey, if you think it's a shame that police are under-prepared to take on the unsustainable amount of roles they have in a community, I agree with you. I've worked EMS and it's wild the kinds of calls you get as one of the primary emergency services in a town/city. I get that there is burn out. And that is why we need to, as a country, find a better way of supporting our communities that doesn't involve handing over way too many jobs, way too many roles, to the police force who is clearly unable to offer quality of response.
Yes it's their fault for not being too willing to look in the mirror and admit that they f@cked up. But it's also on us, as the citizens of this country to also look in the mirror and admit we f@cked up. We've slacked off, we didn't realize it was this urgent of a manner, we didn't realize this many people were dying, and this many inadequately trained RCMP officers, and this many nuanced support roles (especially in regards to mental health) were needed in our communities.
This is a learning lesson, a well over due learning lesson, why are we so afraid of that?
Marie-Claire Findlay-Brook
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Katie on Jun 6, 2020 at 4:21 pm
“Slavery, in Canada and other British Colonies, officially ended in 1834, but the subjection of black bodies persists, and we, in the 21st century, still live in a world that is shaped by this traumatic experience,” added Franklin-Dorion.
Racism and discrimination are present here in Canada both in systems and at an individual level. It is here, strong and aggressive in the Yukon too, it is everywhere. It will take both individual and collective efforts to significantly reduce human suffering that we experience through racism and discrimination. As a human race, we must recognize the stupidity that comes with the division we put amongst ourselves in the name of skin colour, and I personally see it as very foolish and frozen for anyone to believe in their very weak minds that the colour of their skin makes them any better a human. All evidence points against this position.
You wonder in a system that belittles and alienates other humans in the name of race, when they are alone by themselves how does this belief validate their own life existence? Does it really fulfil you when you are sitting by yourself reflecting on your life and the so called privilege and "betterness"? Does the colour of your skin feel to you like a very big achievement? Does your skin-colour based privilege really give you the real peace of mind, the true purpose and satisfaction in life? I wish people knew how living their lives at such a superficial level deprives them of the true beauty and joy of life, and building it into a systemic cultures, a sore to the whole community and nation.
It is not just the Police, it is spread across the systems, the very public works which belong to all of us, which we all belong to. It is very easy for every incident right now that leads to a Black or Native death to arouse protest movements across communities. At this point it is highly likely that the pain felt by all who have a heart to feel the effects of racism in the lives of the oppressed will be shared by the members of the oppressive race, particularly those in the Police field too. The racial divide does not benefit anyone even the mainstream because we all remain human! In our solitary moments we still have the same emotions, feelings and thoughts. You might delight in putting your knee on someone's neck in the moment because they are Black, Native or coloured, but what greatness does it offer if you then spend sleepless nights, tormented by your own evil works. Yes, it is evil to hate, oppress and even dehumanize your fellow human being just because they have a different amount of melanin than you do!
For those who despise the Dawsonites for protesting, maybe you have a point if indeed the Police played no role in the incident. Like I mentioned it might be easy to lose focus and objectivity. If we view every Black and Native death as the fault of the Police and racial oppression, we will lose focus because what we are dealing with ( systemic racism) is a beast that needs to be faced directly and not fogged by in-objectivity and irrelevance.
The world is so large and wide, but we can funnel our efforts down to our home, our community- our Yukon. The efforts to promote our race - the human race. Who knows what we can teach the world, how we can impact change and save lives if we start right here right now? Again, it starts at an individual level, on your own, how do you view yourself, does the colour of your skin give you the life you have, does it really solidify the purpose and meaning you truly yearn for in the depths of your own spirit? Does your priviledge or a lack thereof affect your own life, your family's and all those around you? Does it block you from harvesting the real fruits life has for each of us if we embraced it individually and collectively? It starts with you and me man, we are all of one race - the human race!
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Groucho d'North on Jun 6, 2020 at 1:46 pm
I agree with the comments that this sad situation with Ms. Korchinski-Paquet is not about racism, and I'll not speak further about the race angles. Currently the racism aspect is blowing up about Chantel Moore a FN woman shot by police in New Brunswick and again I doubt race played a role in this terrible outcome. Rather, I suspect poor training was the critical issue. I do support greater training for all law enforcement to do their jobs without lethal force if possible recognizing that there are situations where officers are at huge risk because many of the gang-bangers have better weapons than the police and you don't know what kind of attitude the criminal with the weapon is, or what waits on the other side of the door you just knocked on.
But there is a spectrum of options for law enforcement beginning with talking. A former New York Police officer developed a process called Verbal Judo which is a method of deescalating situations just by talking them out if the risk levels allow. The next option if some force is required may be the service issued Asp- a telescoping baton that hurts like hell when struck against your shins, then pepper spray which many of us carry when concerned about aggressive bears, and if all these non-lethal options do not produce the desired results- use the service firearm. Too many cops go for the gun first and we witness the sad results of these split second decisions.
And to be clear it is not the front line officers who determine the training needs or the rules of engagement officers are expected to follow in these situations, so the shirt and tie types and policy wonks in law enforcement should be spanked hard as well- they failed before the officers they trained did.
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iBrian on Jun 6, 2020 at 6:17 am
Why don’t you people wait to see what the investigation finds.
Too many people with time to jump on Bandwagons. My lord.
The police didn’t throw anyone off a balcony. Just wait till the investigation concludes.
It’s sad, we all make choices that effect our lives. Make sure the ones you choose are ones your willing to live by.
If the police come to your house in Carcross, and you run into the forest to evade the authorities, and you get eaten by a bear. Is everyone going to hold a vigil for you? It’s no different then what’s happened.
I worked in Toronto and seen the way the culture respects police. Bombing them with bottles and objects from their balcony’s in the high rises. But guess it’s ok if the police are white.
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Guncache on Jun 5, 2020 at 6:28 pm
Holding a vigil for someone who acted carelessly and was responsible for her own death. She locks herself in a room, goes out on her balcony and tries to crawl to the adjoining balcony. She falls to her death with no input from the police. Maybe the vigil should go to the Dome and smoke a fatty.
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Marie-Claire Findlay-Brook on Jun 5, 2020 at 3:31 pm
It seems like a matter of perspective, where you see "political opportunists" ( Salt) or "protesters" (JC) we see it as community members coming together to hold a VIGIL to show support for our Black and Indigenous community members who are grieving right now. Us white folks can never understand the collective grief that these communities experience when another member dies due to violence, neglect or lack of a support system. But we can listen, and try to learn how to help.
This vigil, this show of support, isn't about pushing one singular political agenda, which would be impossible, since so many people from so many walks of life will be attending. It's about showing love and support, and a commitment to examining how we got to this place, where armed forces are the go-to response to nearly any crisis (sometimes that "crisis" is just being Black or Indigenous, living), where positive social supports are inconsistent, unavailable, underfunded, where there are 100 instances of aggression for every 1 that white folks see.
Also, this isn't just about cops, or deaths, it's about making sure that the system that we all support, is supporting all of us, equally. I've never been a cop, but I have worn a uniform (EMS- territory, Coast Guard- federal), and even though I don't strike a very intimidating picture (no gun, rumpled uniform, messy hair, nervous jokes), this has really made me reflect on what it means to be white, and to be representing the state, in uniform.
It seems like we are getting lost in the plot if we focus too much on trying to play Clue (balcony, falling, argument), rather than recognizing that what happened to Regis, shouldn't have happened at all, and that police, and our governments, and our neighbours and ourselves, all had a part in that.
And that doesn't mean that we have to fall apart in despair, or blame, it just means that we can all have a part in challenging and changing the parts of our society that need some work. Every single one of us, even if we are rusty, out of practice, nervous, so dang uncomfortable, we are all capable of making the world a little safer, a little softer (not a bad thing) and a little more joyous for each other.
So yeah, I guess I just recommend not getting too hung up on protecting folks who probably don't need your protection (ie- the people and organizations that rarely face consequences for committing crimes), and instead, listen to and love the ones who do. Small towns, big hearts, big change.
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Anie on Jun 5, 2020 at 3:25 pm
Why wait for facts ? Let's just make up our own narrative, blame the cops, hold a vigil, everybody hold hands and claim racism. Things must be pretty darned good in the Yukon when we need to make up stories to get attention. I hope fair minded people stay well away from this bs
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Salt on Jun 4, 2020 at 10:00 pm
The fact that there is absolutely no reason to believe that the police are responsible or that racism had anything to do with it, somehow, appears to be completely irrelevant. Political opportunists simply don’t care about the truth or the damage they are doing to civil society.
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JC on Jun 4, 2020 at 6:00 pm
So, Ismael Franklin Dorion and Lana Welchman automatically assume that the police were responsible for this afro American girls death. The facts have already come out. The police were called to a home where a young girl was being abused by her family members. The girl tried to jump to the next apartment to get away and fell. The police officers sin was being there I guess. Pretty dumb for someone in Dawson, Yukon protesting over it.