Black and Indigenous Alliance Alberta (BIAA) held a press conference in front of the Ponoka RCMP Detachment on Monday. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

People Divided

Tensions high as groups clash outside Ponoka RCMP Detachment

Sep 14, 2020 | 6:02 PM

Emotions ran high as two groups verbally clashed Monday afternoon in front of the Ponoka RCMP Detachment.

Black and Indigenous Alliance Alberta (BIAA) held a press conference in front of the detachment to outline their concerns regarding an incident in Ponoka last Thursday.

BIAA were holding what they described as a peaceful protest on Sept. 10 to bring awareness to racial inequities in the community. At the same time, not far away, another group was holding a counter-protest.

BIAA alleges a vehicle was driven towards them on Thursday resulting in a hit and run where one of their protesters suffered minor injuries.

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BIAA officials say the overall actions of Ponoka RCMP last Thursday were deplorable, with the exception of one officer.

“Police drove by the incident scene and laughed,” BIAA co-founder Kisha Daniels said Monday. “Very unprofessional action.”

BIAA officials also allege members of the Ponoka Fire Department informed their group of a $20,000 cost of the call for medical services on Sept. 10.

“Don’t worry Ponoka Emergency Services and fire department; our group members fully understand the covert racism that this comment is dripping with,” they remarked.

Daniels said their group had been peacefully protesting in Ponoka for six weeks without any altercations prior to Thursday’s alleged incident.

“Our focus is bringing equity,” she explained. “Equities in mental health, equity in healthcare, equity in schooling, those are the ideas we’re trying to bring forward in communities. We’re community advocates. That’s our biggest goal.”

A handful of counter-protesters showed up at Monday’s news conference, leading to some tense moments.

One man carrying a megaphone interrupted the press conference several times, shouting things like “We don’t want to hear what Antifa has to say” while BIAA members were trying to speak.

When it comes to the events of Sept. 10, Ponoka RCMP Staff Sgt. Chris Smiley confirms they have multiple investigations ongoing, including into some comments made online.

However, in terms of the alleged hit and run, he says no video footage from the incident has been provided to RCMP.

“Until that happens, we’ve got various accounts of what happened,” he explained. “People are allowed to protest and hold impromptu media and everybody’s got the filter that they’re looking at the world through, so our job really is just to keep the peace, which we’ve done today.”

Smiley admits he was disappointed to hear BIAA’s comments about officers’ actions.

“That’s not what happened. That’s somebody’s perspective and that’s fine,” he said. “I don’t know, we can’t please anyone these days. I just know the men and women in this office are working very hard every day to serve the people of Ponoka and Ponoka County and we’re never going to stop.”

BIAA officials say the group will be holding a community “Call To Action” round table discussion at Wetaskiwin City Hall Sept. 19, and an educational anti-racism community conversation in Ponoka Oct. 17.