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. 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. 

The Canadian police force is trained and equipped for violence and is inappropriately delegated to address personal health crises, which disproportionately endangers vulnerable members of the community. The use of force by police during mental health checks is unacceptable and dangerous. The University of British Columbia must support its BIPOC students, staff, and faculty and take a stand to stop the continuation of violence by the police force in our community.

These are the demands we are making of UBC:

-Publicly detail UBC’s External Review of Campus Security, committing to include UBCO as a part of this Review, and ensuring that UBC’s relationship with the RCMP is included as a part of the Review (as per Santa’s statement and this one)
-Provide concrete plans around the expansion of mental health resources for UBCO students and expedite these investments sooner than 2025
-Ensure that work moving forward is done with thorough consultation with BIPOC students, staff, and faculty, and advocacy groups that represent and support them, and that they are compensated for this work.
-Stand with students calling for the firing of Corporal Browning for unnecessary use of force against Mona Wang once case is closed.

Please click here for an open letter detailing the specifics of these asks.