SASKATOON — Indigenous leaders in Saskatchewan are calling for the release of a report into Prince Albert police and transparency for the family of a man who died while in custody.
“The faith and trust of our people continues to be disintegrated," Vice Chief Edward Dutch Lerat with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations said Wednesday.
"There needs to be significant action to begin to repair the relationships with our people, if this is at all possible.”
Saul Laliberte, 33, was taken to the Prince Albert police detention facility in 2021. His mother, Amelia Bloomfield, was concerned for his well-being and contacted police to request that they take him to the hospital.
“Her request was ignored and hours later Saul was found dead in his cell,” Lerat said, sitting beside Bloomfield during a news conference in Saskatoon.
“The police service at the time never ensured his safety and this was a tragedy that could have been avoided.”
Earlier this month, a 21-year member of Prince Albert police was charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life.
Laliberte was described as a beloved son, brother, uncle and friend. Family say they have not received an autopsy report confirming how he died and police have not publicly released the information.
Laliberte's death was the third to take place in police custody over a few weeks in Saskatchewan's third-largest city.
Police came under intense scrutiny again a few months later when 13-month-old Tanner Brass was allegedly slain by his father after his mother called Prince Albert police for help. A Public Complaints Commission report found officers neglected their duty in the case by not checking on the Indigenous child's well-being, instead taking his mother to the police station.
The string of deaths prompted the province to commission an independent review of the force.
The final report by former Edmonton police chief Rod Knecht was completed this spring, but the Saskatchewan government released only the 45 recommendations on Tuesday.
Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte of the Prince Albert Grand Council called for the immediate implementation of the recommendations.
"We owe it to the families to do this, who have endured unimaginable pain, and to our community as a whole," Hardlotte said during the news conference.
Hardlotte said the response should go beyond the recommendations and also include the appointment of a representative from the grand council on the board of police commissioners, as well as cultural and language training within the service.
"Let us seize this moment as a catalyst for positive change," he said.
The Indigenous leaders, however, criticized the government for not making the entire report public. Lerat said they need the full report to better understand the recommendations and to achieve the transparency needed to rebuild trust with the police force.
"Confidence in the police service at the time was shattered."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2023.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
