'All kids deserve respect': Protesters demonstrate outside of BMO branch after 12-year-old handcuffed
Indigenous elder and 12-year-old granddaughter were handcuffed on Dec. 20
About 50 protesters demonstrated outside a downtown Vancouver Bank of Montreal Friday, following news that an Indigenous elder and his 12-year-old granddaughter were handcuffed trying to open a bank account.
Protesters held signs reading "all kids deserve respect," "stop racial profiling," and "money has no race," while calling out both the Bank of Montreal and the Vancouver Police Department.
CBC News first reported Thursday Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed in front of the bank after the granddad brought her there to set her up with a savings account.
Johnson says an employee first questioned his identification that included a government-issued Indian Status cards, his birth certificate and her medical card.
The bank, believing it was a case of fraud, called the Vancouver Police Department.
When police arrived, Johnson and his 12-year-old granddaughter were handcuffed and placed in the back of a police vehicle.
Once officers confirmed their identity, they were released.
Both the Bank of Montreal and the VPD have expressed regret over the incident.
With files from Angela Sterritt