Settlement reached in human rights complaint against Regina police

A settlement has been reached for an Indigenous man who filed a human rights complaint after feeling he was wrongfully approached by Regina police four years ago.

In a news release Friday, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) stated the settlement compensates Simon Ash-Moccasin with an undisclosed amount of money.

Additionally, the Regina Police Service (RPS) will continue to provide anti-bias training.

According to the SHRC, Ash-Moccasin was forcefully approached by officers and arrested, even though he didn’t match the description of the criminal they were looking for and he wasn’t engaging in any criminal activity. He was later released.

Ash-Moccasin filed a complaint under Section 12 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights code accusing police of being biased because of his race.

According to SHRC, police didn’t admit to breaking the code but apologized for the mistreatment.

In 2016, the Public Complaints Commission referred the case to the public prosecution office which found that no criminal charges needed to be laid.

“The Regina Police Service acknowledges the hurt suffered by Mr. Ash-Moccasin as the result of our actions. We have apologized and he has accepted our apology,” RPS said in an email statement.

“We have enhanced our training in order to avoid similar incidents in the future. We hope the lessons of this experience make us a stronger and more responsive organization.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said the criminal code had been discriminated against. The correct code is the Saskatchewan Human Rights code. The story has been changed to reflect this.