A string of RCMP shootings of Indigenous people in Canada have sparked controversy of police response to wellness checks across the country. Steven “Iggy” Dedam, a 34-year-old Indigenous man from Elsipogtog First Nation (one hour north of Moncton), is an example of how wellness checks can transpire into a fatal interaction.
On September 8 at 11:40 p.m., RCMP received a call for a wellness check regarding a “suicidal male armed with a weapon” who was “allegedly threatening to harm himself.” The RCMP said that upon entering the apartment, Dedam approached the two officers with a weapon, but no information was given on what kind of weapon he held. Dedam did not drop his weapon and was uncooperative with police according to the RCMP. Dedam was tasered to no effect, then shot by an officer. He was pronounced dead in hospital according to the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT). Upon being shot, the RCMP said that they gave immediate first aid to Dedam.
How and why this happened is being met with suspicion, from family, the community, and people across Canada. In an interview with CBC, Dedam’s family did not agree with the statement of it being for a wellness check. During the incident, Dedam’s brother and sister, Samuel Dedam and Amber Joseph were on the phone with him and went to see him after they heard shots. Joseph recalled that after the taser was administered once, Dedam was shot three times in the chest. They also opposed the RCMP’s statement that first aid was given immediately. “When I came in, they didn’t have compression on him,” said Joseph. She also alleged that, “the first thing they did was handcuff him and say that he was under arrest.” His brother said that, “It took them like maybe 10 [to] 20 minutes to actually put pressure to his wounds.” SiRT was able to confirm that three shots were fired and that the RCMP did respond to a wellness check.
Dedam’s shooting was also met with concern from the Indigenous community. Kenneth Francis, an elder within the Elsipogtog community touched on the systemic issues within it. “To me, it’s just a continuation of something that is intrinsically wrong and the frustration is that there doesn’t seem to be anything being done about it,” he said during an interview with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). Francis is also part of Indige Watch. After 911 is notified of a need for a wellness check of an Indigenous person, Indige Watch gets called to accompany officers to “help the RCMP, so that it doesn’t go out of hand.” Francis added that in this event, Indige Watch was never contacted. “All the evidence that I have gathered up at this point in this time, in the case, there was no, not even a try to contact us,” he said. This is not the first time that Dedam had had a wellness check. In January of this year, Indige Watch joined police to Dedam’s apartment and the situation was resolved.
This fatal incident has brought attention to recent killings of Indigenous peoples across Canada. Since August 29 of this year, six Indigenous people, including Dedam, have died after police interactions. Four of the occurrences were police shootings, while the remaining two were hit by police vehicles. Here are their names:
Jack Piché, 31, Clearwater Dené Nation, Saskatchewan.
Hoss Lightning Saddleback, 15, Samson Cree Nation, Alberta.
Tammy Bateman, 39, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Jason West, 57, Windsor, Ontario.
Dannie Knife, 31, Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, Saskatchewan.
Steven “Iggy” Dedam, 34, Elsipogtog First Nation, New Brunswick.