In January, RCMP Cpl. Lacy Browning brutally detained University of British Columbia Okanagan student, Mona Wang, during a wellness check. According to the lawsuit filed by Wang, she was experiencing mental distress and her boyfriend called the RCMP for a wellness check. Wang says Browning demanded that she stand, and she was not able to do so on her own. The lawsuit says that Browning then assaulted Wang, hitting on her and kicking her, before dragging her handcuffed down a hallway. Surveillance footage from the building shows Browning dragging Wang down the hallway, and when, while lying on the ground, Wang lifts her head, Browning steps on it. Browning also later pulled Wang’s head up by her hair.

The RCMP’s placing of Browning on administrative duties is insufficient.

Since April this year, five people across Canada - all BIPOC - have lost their lives during wellness checks by police.The use of force during mental health checks by police is unacceptable. The institution of the police force is trained and equipped for violence, and inevitably enacts violence upon those most vulnerable. 

We call on the institutions and people addressed to:

-Hold officer Lacy Browning accountable through
Immediately terminating Lacey Browning from the RCMP
-Disqualifying Browning from receiving her pension if she qualifies
-Ensuring Browning is barred from becoming a police officer ever again
-Ensure a transparent national database to track blacklisted RCMP members stopping them from joining the RCMP in another municipality or holding alternative positions in security. 
-Redistribute mental health checks to alternative first responders such as social workers and paramedics

As officials sitting in positions meant to protect and serve the people of your community, we call on the RCMP, Minister of Public Safety, and Attorney Generals of BC and Canada to act on these demands with urgency and care. It is your job to ensure that a situation like this is prevented from ever happening again. 

News coverage of Mona Wang’s case: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kelowna-rcmp-surveillance-video-wellness-check-lawsuit-1.5623215