Re: Complaint dismissed against Nelson police over reported sex assault, Dec. 7
The article in the Nelson Star last week about the human rights complaint made on behalf of my daughter Olivia Bean was written without having seen all the evidence. This is because it was based on letters and statements that parrot the Nelson Police Department’s bias.
At every stage of the complaints process we have been censored, silenced, and not allowed to share evidence. Even now, I am only allowed to say certain things in this letter.
The complaints process has been exhausting and is designed to be inaccessible to most people. I can’t imagine trying to do this if I were not confident as a Canadian citizen for instance, or if English was a language that I was still learning.
There are five hours of disgusting video evidence that clearly shows Sgt. Holt denying Olivia the restraining order that she was begging for, making statements that normalize sexual assault, and suggesting that Olivia’s gender transition was the real problem.
The BC Human Rights Tribunal never looked at this video, or even the transcript of the video. They made their decision based on police statements instead.
As I said in last week’s article, all Olivia ever wanted was an apology, and as a consent educator I wanted to help the NPD learn to do better. Instead, they chose to treat us as if we were combatants and we were forced to follow the complaints process.
The internal complaints system within police forces are now more trauma informed than the process set up for the public, which isn’t saying much considering the ongoing and large scale lawsuits within police departments across the country. Even the Office of Police Complaints Commission is named in a recent sexual harassment lawsuit.
The NPD are trying to make it seem as if we are the only ones who have ever complained about this kind of behaviour. Many of you know that we are not alone. Don’t be silenced. Use your voice.
Erica Scott
North Delta, B.C.