The Shooting Of Bhagat By Harper Elizabeth Comack - 998 Words

Throughout The Shooting of J.J. Harper Elizabeth Comack discusses the shooting of First Nations man J.J. Harper. Comack discusses the ongoing problem with Aboriginal Peoples and the police and how the investigation into the shooting explains the distrust Aboriginals have for the police. She provides many different ways law enforcement failed in a fair investigation and how the Aboriginal People were treated in the aftermath of the shooting. Although Comack discusses the ways the police tried to cover up the case she does leave out some particular areas of concern, such as the high arrest rates for the Aboriginal community and why these rates are so high as well as what police and society need to work on to improve Aboriginal Peoples trust in the future. While Comack touches base on extremely important events following the shooting, she fails to elaborate on a few major issues that should be discussed when discussing Aboriginal Peoples distrust in the police. On the morning of March 9, 1988 a sequence of events took place that would haunt the Aboriginal community in Canada for years to come. J.J. Harper, a First Nations man was walking down the street when he was stopped by a police officer. The officer, Constable Cross, asked to see Harpers identification when an argument ensued. Cross’s gun fired and killed Harper on the spot. Throughout the article, Comack dives deeper into the investigation and what the police did wrong. Research has been done in recent years to show