By Ally Dunham

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief, Stan Beardy is speaking out against commendations that were handed out to several Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Officers at the 2011 OPP Awards Ceremony in Dryden on May 26, 2011.

Eight officers were awarded with a Commissioner’s Commendation for Exemplary Performance of Duty, while another seven officers were awarded Commissioner’s Letter of Commendation for their combined efforts in a OPP operation in Pikangikum First Nation in June 2010.

Another officer who was involved in a shooting incident with a First Nations woman in Kenora, and was awarded the Commissioner’s Citation for Bravery.

Beardy says, “The OPP is sending the wrong message to First Nations people by rewarding their officers in this manner. These officers are trained to be combative, and they are also trained to use other equipment that could be used in situations like that in Kenora, a firearm should be the last resort.”

OPP Commissioner, Chris Lewis said, “Pikangikum was a very difficult situation, it’s been a challenging community, our relationship there is very good right now, but at that time, some community members reacted to what they thought and perceived to be an extensive use of force by an officer which was subsequently proven not to be.”

“At the time, the community was very intent on getting us (OPP Officers) out of that community and we were not leaving that community, leaving those people unpoliced. We weren’t going to leave people who were in the hospital without help when the nurses were leaving,” said Lewis.

Beardy says Pikangikum residents were exercising their right to protect the lands that are traditionally theirs, and they have the right to say how their homelands will be operated.

“We have no control over how the OPP decide to operate, even if it’s not right from our perspective. The commendations, from our view, are glorified and unnecessary. Again, it sends the wrong message to our people,” said Beardy.

Lewis said, “It was a very serious situation, and we could have flown in hundreds of police officers and at gunpoint taken the police station back, but we didn’t want to do that. Our officers did handle it extremely well, used a very measured approach, and backed away rather than get into a big fight and potentially lose lives, or at least jeopardize lives. They handled it well until the negotiations worked out, and before the night was out we had control again.”