The terms of a bail release for a 33-year old native man in Montreal – a man accused of taking part in that hockey riot there earlier this month when the Montreal Canadiens won their first-round playoff series – are causing some raised eyebrows. Davin Johnny is charged with a variety of offenses, including vandalizing a police car and assaulting a police officer. Evidence presented at his bail hearing also indicated that Davin Johnny told an undercover officer that he “hates pigs.”
But the judge who presided over the bail hearing ordered Mr. Johnny released, in part, because of his race. She said that, among other reasons, she had “to take the suspect’s aboriginal heritage into account,” including “the reality of disadvantage” faced by natives; disadvantages such as high unemployment and alcohol dependency.
Even some native leaders are upset with the ruling.
Grand Chief Mike Delisle of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake told the Globe and Mail that the ruling is “like saying saying, ‘They’re poor little Indians.’” Delisle called the ruling a “slap in the face,” adding that natives “shouldn’t be held to a lesser standard than anyone else” just because of their race.
Public date: April 27th, 2008
