Report of police mistreatment worries First Nations school official

Provincial police are investigating allegations made by a 19-year-old First Nations man who says a Thunder Bay police officer dropped him off outside city limits, forcing him to walk back to his residence in the city.

A student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nation High School has alleged that the incident took place on Dec. 2.

The executive director of Northern Nishnawbe Education Council that runs the school said she's worried about the safety of students as they return to the city from their remote First Nations after Christmas.

Norma Keejick said the student was really "shaken up" and reported the incident to teachers the morning after it happened.

"My main concern was the student's safety, because it involved a police officer," said Keejick.

She added it was a group decision among the First Nations leadership, the teen's family and police for OPP to lead the investigation.

"If this is true that this has happened and it’s someone that is wearing a uniform and abusing that authority, they need to be off the police force."

Keejick said the recent report of an assault on a First Nations woman in the city is also cause for safety concerns.

The Thunder Bay Police Service said it’s co-operating with the Ontario Provincial Police in their investigation, but won’t comment on the case.