Transformations in the face of violence

Times Contributor   

 

A flight over the arctic tundra, into the isolated island community of Cape Dorset, landed RCMP Staff Sergeant James McLaren in one of the most violent and hostile postings of his career.

“Three RCMP members were killed on duty at the posting over the years. I knew that going in. I had an idea what I was getting into. I applied for the posting,” said McLaren. 

Cape Dorset sits on Dorset Island, located in the Hudson Strait on the southern tip of Baffin Island. The island is four miles wide and two long, nestled in lowland below the Kingnait mountain range. About 1,200 people live on the island which is filled with Inuit culture dating back to 1000 BC. There are no reserves here for native peoples. The people are bilingual, speaking English and Inuktitut. The only industry is art, and the people subsist by hunting and fishing. The community was a study in contrasts for McLaren. On one hand, there is the scene of a friendly and open community; on the other, a darker picture drawn with the medium of alcohol. 

“Planes would land, bringing in alcohol and if we didn’t catch it at the airport, or it was legal, within two hours we would get our first call. We would go constantly, until all that liquor was gone,” said McLaren.

In Nunavut, alcohol sales are by restricted permit or license. Bootleg sources thrive. McLaren thinks the Inuit historical diet speeds their alcohol absorption rate, as it is based mostly in protein with no intoxicants or sugars. McLaren said alcohol is consumed fast and it hits them hard. Combine that with the guns that everyone uses to hunt, it is a recipe for violence.

The Cape Dorset post included four members, plus a community constable from the town. The community constable’s father was an RCMP member that had died on duty before McLaren arrived. McLaren described his men as a tight knit group that supported each other, but maintained RCMP discipline to get things done. He said he could not have faced the challenges of the post without the support and bravery of these men. When McLaren first arrived, the townspeople were hostile.

“About five years prior to us getting there, one of our members was shot with a shotgun and killed. Police-community relations in the town were hard. It was our member that was killed, and yet they were writing on our trucks and writing in the dirt. ‘Get out of our town. We don’t want you here. You are next’,” said McLaren. 

“Anyone doing this job expects to eventually be in harm’s way. Everyone accepts that. We take this job, to bring calm from chaos, to stop the bleeding, to provide relief when there is no one else to provide relief.”

Adhering to that conviction in spite of evident attitudes, McLaren encouraged officer engagement with the community. He is convinced that communication, education and effective enforcement turned attitudes in the community from hostile to supportive. 

“The men were resistant at first; they didn’t want to get out into the community. It was a ‘them against us’ mentality on both sides. I had two years with these guys, so we eventually wore all that down”, said McLaren. 

He said it was an open community, great people. McLaren felt alcohol caused good people to behave badly.

“I can separate the person from the act. Most of the offenders were truly sorry for what they did. I have no problem to forgive and forget. It has served me and my guys well up there,” said McLaren.

He said officers would arrest a guy for being drunk and causing problems and he is the same guy that brings water to the house. Community members would visit at officer’s houses and the kids would play in their yards and at the post. They had barbeques and cooked burgers together. 

“We went to community functions and pulled out the red serge on special days, talked with the community elders on a Saturday and went to community bingo with our families. Things like that. We were part of the community. It made a huge change, and it didn’t happen overnight. Don’t get me wrong, we did our jobs. I was strong on enforcement. There were a lot of things that weren’t enforced before,” said McLaren.

They instituted a helmet law on ATV’s. It started with an education program, followed by ticketing. He said they achieved 100 per cent compliance in town.

“I thought I was going to have angry people lined up in front of the office, but they would go by on a quad and wave and point to the helmet,” said McLaren. 

However, alcohol-induced violent calls continued and took their toll on the men. He described the particularly bad summer of 2010. 

“We had one standoff where we sat looking down the barrel of a gun for six or seven hours. The guy was going to kill himself and kill us in his home. A month later, we were pinned down under a house. He was shooting at us and at kids. He was drunk, out of control. That was bad. That was a terrible night. Later, we found two people hanging, one who was our guard’s son. We had no ambulances, so we had to throw them in the back of the car and take them to the hospital. The hospital only had nurses…no doctors. Fortunately, the guard’s son lived,” said McLaren. 

“Later that summer, a murder and stabbing. Looking for the suspect, they came across another body. One was dead and another barely alive. A week later, there was another murder, where a young fellow shot his brother and made a standoff in the town. He was 15-year-old boy and we had to shoot him in the arm to disarm him. Shortly after that incident, one officer was shot at and one officer’s home was shot up. Twenty four hours later, kids took shotguns and shot up the town.” 

By the end of 2010, all of the officers had had enough and requested to be flown out. McLaren commends his commanding officers for their prompt response at providing debriefing and counselling services. 

“It builds up and you have to deal with the negative incidents. We are getting better as an organization at doing that. It’s like a carpet layer having bad knees, or a brick builder with a bad back, or a welder with bad eyes. We have to look after our heads, because that is what we work with. It is an occupational disease,” said McLaren, about debriefings after traumatic incidents.

Members were flown out and RCMP officers were flown in from all over, initiating a door-to-door gun search, ensuring that firearms were being handled safely and securely. A town meeting was also held. McLaren was surprised at the community response. Townspeople were cooperative, afraid that officers weren’t coming back. They wanted them back. McLaren said earlier in the year, major trouble would have started over the search, if the engagement work hadn’t been done.

“We went from a town hating us and wanting us out, to wanting us there. I’m not taking credit, because it was my guys, and the community was ready for it,” said McLaren. “I do wish that I didn’t have to keep arresting the same person three or four times. I wish there would be more alcohol programs for the chronic offenders that would take hold.” 

He said in retrospect, he was amazed at officers and community member’s courageous responses in the face of danger and responding to change, stepping up to help communities and lives turn around.

McLaren received public awards for his service in Nunavut; however, he said the greater job rewards mean a lot to him. 

Personal rewards often come in small acts. He still displays the small Inuit sculptures that the 15-year-old who was shot gave him as a token of peace between them. At another posting, McLaren received heartfelt appreciation from a father. The teen had been convicted of drunk driving and McLaren had initiated a ride along, to show the teen the problems over-drinking causes. The father said after that the teen straightened out and went on to do well.

“The smallest things you do can have the greatest impacts,” said McLaren. “I hounded on my guys. If you don’t find the good, all the bad will eat you up. You become bitter and angry, begin to hate your job and start to be short with people and portray an unprofessional image. You are going to be miserable. The good is not going to come to us. The bad comes to us. The good is out there, but you have to seek out the good. If we do our jobs well, the good comes back to you,” McLaren said.

McLaren left Nunavut in Jan. 2011. He worked in Calgary RCMP headquarters for a short duration and in Nov. 2011 took the Staff Sergeant posting in Gleichen, where he remains for another four years.