Re: Statement condemning violent arrest of Black SFU alumnus

Hi All,

I agree with what I take to be the gist of Cynthia Patton's remarks: namely, that it would be good to (1) have more information regarding the purview of the review announced by President Johnson and (2) to receive that information in a timely way.

According to one description of the events in question, SFU's Campus Security mishandled the episode *prior* to the RCMP's involvement:

"Calling the police [by Campus Security] on a Black man, continued HoSang, “can be a death sentence, especially if there are instances and prior history of mental health conditions. Specific to this person and violent arrest, SFU Security knows of this student and knows that this former student has never caused harm to the SFU community prior to this.”A GoFundMe alleges the man was “profiled, security perceived him as a threat prior to this, followed him, and then called the police.”"

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/sfu-burnaby-rcmp-black-man-arrest-campus

If the accompanying allegation of racial profiling by SFU Campus Security in the story is true then that is very troubling. It's also not clear to me how the review will address that particular allegation, and when it will address it (if at all). Obviously, requesting an external examination of the RCMP's conduct fails to engage with this particular concern.

I acknowledge that Dr Johnson's public statement seems intended to convey that SFU is taking this episode seriously and that the statement was not intended to describe the contemplated review process in detail. But in my view Dr Johnson's brief statement does not go quite far enough. Many international students will remain on campus this Winter-break on account of Covid-19 restrictions. The Campus will be their home. And their ability to avoid scrutiny from the Campus Security detail in this home will be greatly diminished. In these very intimate circumstances, being surveilled by a team that has recently been plausibly accused of racial profiling could be both upsetting and intolerable. I think it is reasonable for visible minorities on campus to expect more robust assurances from the President's Office ASAP so that they can chill out a bit over break.

Sincerely,

Sam

Sam Black

Assoc. Prof. Philosophy, SFU

From: David Macalister <david_macalister@sfu.ca>
Sent: December 15, 2020 3:17:55 PM
To: Cynthia Patton; Paul Percival; James Fleming; Christopher Pavsek
Cc: Academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Statement condemning violent arrest of Black SFU alumnus

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP is the external authority that is charged with the responsibility of investigating allegations of wrongdoing by RCMP officers. If the conduct causes "death or serious harm" the Independent Investigations Office of BC is responsible for investigating the incident.

David

David MacAlister, MA, JD, LLM
Director and Associate Professor | Criminology

President, Western Society of Criminology

Secretary-Treasurer, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform & Criminal Justice Policy

Simon Fraser University | Saywell Hall 10134
8888 University Drive Burnaby BC V5A1S6
T. 778.782.4305 | sfu.ca/criminology

From: Cynthia Patton <cindy_patton@sfu.ca>
Sent: December 15, 2020 2:02 PM
To: Paul Percival; James Fleming; Christopher Pavsek
Cc: Academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Statement condemning violent arrest of Black SFU alumnus

Here is the quote that I believe many people have found problematic:

"We will undertake an external review of the situation. There are learning opportunities in everything we do, and we will review this event to learn what we can improve. We will also seek out learning from experts on the impact of policing on Black people. In the coming days I will reach out to Black faculty, staff and students for input. Recommendations from this review will be shared with the SFU community and necessary changes implemented."

First, what exactly does Dr. Johnson mean by "external review"? RCMP were involved. Who exactly has the scope to review this situation from an "external" point of view? External to what/whom?

Second, I personally find it very troubling to have our highest administrator describe a violence against a person (for any reason) as a "learning opportunity." This is beyond dismissive. Who is supposed to learn from this opportunity? If it is the administration, then who be commissioned to do this teaching? Apparently, those whom the President plans "reach out to." Will those who feel the hand of the administration upon them get financial compensation for this addition to their workload?

Finally, the idea that the "review will be shared" and "changes implemented" (note the passive structure of the sentence drops the Subject) brings us back to the question of the "externality" of the review. It appears that SFU will review itself, once again.

From: Paul Percival <percival@sfu.ca>
Sent: December 15, 2020 1:41:32 PM
To: James Fleming; Christopher Pavsek
Cc: Academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Subject: Re: Statement condemning violent arrest of Black SFU alumnus

The President made a statement on Sunday and vowed to undertake an external review of the incident.

https://www.sfu.ca/pres/the-president/statements/2020/My-response-to-Dec11-event-in-SFU-dining-hall.html

Paul Percival

On 2020-12-15 1:12 p.m., James Fleming wrote: