There has been a long history of police brutality towards blacks in the United States. Perhaps a “modern” starting point for many might be the severe beating Rodney King suffered at the hands of the LAPD in 1991 and of course the notorious police murder of George Floyd in 2020 an incendiary device for Black Lives Matter.
No way there is police brutality against blacks in Canada! Right?
In the National Film Board of Canada’s documentary “Night Watches Us” the death of 23 year-old black Montrealer Nicholas Gibbs on 21August2018 as a result of a “police interaction” is interpreted by the community where he lived and was killed. Gibbs, the father of three, had a history of mental illness.
Gibbs suffered from psychosis and was not on his medications when he was felled by a police bullet. According to the Montreal police Gibbs charged them with a knife and they shot him. Do we give the police the benefit of the doubt as often is done when the facts are “unclear”. This is unwarranted where two witnesses and a video recording established he was not charging the police with a knife. A psychiatric nurse living near the shooting scene interviewed criticized the lack of police training in dealing with mentally ill individuals. Shouting and threatening with guns drawn was the worst approach possible.
An internal police investigation determined no discipline was warranted for the police officer that fired the bullet and criminal charges were also dropped. Gibbs’ nephew is quite clear and many of the community when they say it was murder.
In addition to hearing from the Gibb family the story is creatively and passionately related by mixed media including dance, poetry, animation and music.
A highly publicized incident in the growing catalogue of police brutality in Canada ignored by both the police and the judicial system. In the Gibbs case it is difficult to give police the benefit of the doubt when there was no doubt.
You can watch a clip here https://vimeo.com/1055374919
Screens 1May2025.
A film by Stefan Verna.
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Documentary Rating 68/100.
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