Race played a role in arrest - protester

Daily Gleaner | Greater Fredericton
As published on page A1/A2 on May 30, 2006

Race played a role in arrest - protester
By MICHAEL STAPLES
mstaples@dailygleaner.com

A protestor arrested Saturday in the city's downtown says he was targeted by Fredericton police because of his race.

Asaf Rashid was one of four people taken into custody and ticketed after police decided to crack down on a group of 30 marchers who had made their way from Queens Square to City Hall.

He said the fact he is of Pakistani descent played a role in his arrest.

"I was the only one handcuffed; I was the only one thrown to the ground and the first to be arrested," Rashid said Monday.

"The other three are not people of colour and they weren't treated the same way I was. When I was in the police station, I was asked where I was from. I was put off by that."

Rashid, 30, said he was asked by police if he was a Canadian citizen, even though that was apparent on identification he had with him.

The Fredericton Police Force said it is reviewing an incident.

Const. Bobbi Simmons rejected the idea that the arrest was racially
motivated.

"As a police force, we respect the cultural diversity of the City of Fredericton. In fact, we embrace it," Simmons said.

"We try as a police force to reflect within our own membership the ethnicity that thrives in Fredericton."

Simmons declined to comment on the specifics of the case other than to confirm that police became aware of the demonstration at about 2:25 p.m. on Saturday.

Rashid said the protest was peaceful one - designed to inform people on the problems facing immigrants and refugees in Canada.

The march started at Queens Square park and moved along Queen Street toward City Hall beneath the banner of "Solidarity Across Borders," where the group delivered the message "No one is Illegal."

Other protests took place simultaneously in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa.

"On the left side of my ribs, it feels like I have been struck there. I don't exactly remember what happened; I just remember having my arm twisted behind my back and being forced to the ground," Rashid said.

"I am not sure if it is when I hit the ground that my ribs got sore ... Overall, I would say I do have an injury resulting from this."

Rashid said he is still in shock because all he and the others were doing were walking and handing out pamphlets.

Rashid said when they arrived at City Hall, the police, who had been watching them on Queen Street, came and asked them to leave.

"We were on our way out anyway," said Rashid.

"I asked him (the arresting officer) for his name and badge number, and when I asked him questions with a tape recorder playing, he didn't seem to be too impressed. He grabbed my arm and that is when the whole thing happened."

Rashid admitted he may have been pointed in his questions to the officer but didn't think it would provoke such a reaction.

He claimed the arresting officer told him "the next time I tell you to leave, you had better (expletive deleted) leave."

Rashid said he will be complaining to police and insisting that management at the not put up with that type of behaviour from one of its officers.

Asaf's father, Muhammad Rashid, a professor at the University of New Brunswick, was still at Queens Square when he heard what was going on.

Muhammad Rashid said he has been in Canada for 35 years and had never seen anything like what happened to his son.

"Even if I wasn't his father, I would be shocked by what they did," he said.

After he arrived, he said, he was told to leave or he would be arrested too.

"I think police are supposed to protect people and respect their rights," he said. "These people were peaceful and they were students saying things about respect for human beings, poverty and peace and this the treatment they get."

Muhammad Rashid said there is no doubt the incident was racially motivated.

Madhu Verma, the vice-president of the National Indo-Canadian Council, was also marching with the group Saturday. She said she tried to intervene when Rashid was taken to the ground but was unable to make a difference.

"I said, 'Look, you cannot do that,' " she said.

" 'You cannot use extra force, please stop it.' I said that five times."

She said the Fredericton Police Force needs sensitivity training. She said she approached the force in the past but was told they didn't need it.

"We think it is very, very important that they accept they have a problem and they need the training," she said. "Unless they accept it, they are not going to do it."

In the meantime, Chris Erb, the second person arrested by police on Saturday, said he has launched a private prosecution against one of the officers involved.

An administrative review is also being done on the ticket, Erb said.

"It certainly was an overreaction and I think part of it was motivated by race," Erb said.