In the wake of the wrongful arrest of two teen boys, community leaders say trust in police has been shaken

The recent wrongful arrest of two teenage boys has sent ripples of fear through Calgary's South Sudanese community and shaken an already fragile trust with the city's police, say members of the group.

"Every time something happens it takes people's [trust] back to square one," said Khor Top, president of the South Sudanese Community Association.

"It takes a lot of work for the relationship to be rebuilt."

Speaking to CBC on Monday, Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld said the force had reached out to community leaders to hear their concerns, and that those relationships remained strong.

"When situations like this happen we're not starting with having to go figure out who the community leaders are, there's a level of familiarity," said Neufeld.

"So then we can tackle the issues together and come at them from a good place."

Rebuilding bridges between Calgary police and communities after wrongful arrest

9 months ago

Duration 5:38

Earlier this year, Calgary police laid charges against two teens for a shooting death in the city, only to have those charges stayed once a video on social media showed they were not involved. Chief Constable Mark Neufeld spoke to CBC Calgary's Loren McGinnis about the incident and how the police addressed it

Last month, Neufeld apologized to two teenage brothers and their family after charges against them were dropped in connection to a gang-related fatal shooting in the northeast community of Marlborough.

A 14-year-old Calgary boy faced charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder, while his 18-year-old brother was charged with accessory after the fact to murder. The charges were stayed by prosecutors after social media video of the shooting emerged.

Following the apology, Neufeld said Calgary police hosted a meeting with members of the South Sudanese community to have a dialogue about what happened.

Top, who was at the meeting, said community members shared their dissatisfaction with how the police handled the incident.

"We discussed how this situation has really affected and traumatized the family. In many ways we thought this is similar to what we view as racial profiling and a targeted situation."

LISTEN|We hear part one of our year-end interview with Calgary Police Chief Constable Mark Neufeld:

Calgary Eyeopener8:20Year-end interview with Police Chief Neufeld - part one

Speaking to CBC, Neufeld said he did not think race played a role in the arrest of the two teens, but that an ongoing independent investigation into the arrests carried out by the Alberta RCMP will take it into consideration.

"I can tell you that again, it was a complex situation where I think at all times officers that were working on the case were coming from a good place," said Neufeld.

"There was a very credible witness on the ground that was able to provide pretty specific information right off the bat, which officers had as they were responding to the scene. And one of those pieces of information is that they were looking for a black male."

Systemic issues

Hagir Sail, a Sudanese community leader, said the impact of the arrests was felt far beyond one ethnic group.

"[When we heard] these two boys were black boys, the fear started, like it could have been my kid," said Sail.

"Racism transcends all the linguistics, the barriers that we have because we're all black. We get lumped into this group and the punishment is felt by everybody. The fear is felt by everyone."

Sail said that fear is spurred on not only by incidents like this, but by daily aggressions the community receives from the police.

"You could grab any young black male from age 13 and up and ask them about interaction with the police, and a good percentage of them would have negative ones."

"[The police] can create the narrative that fits, but we know that on the ground, trust with the police is extremely fragile, very fragile."

Top said the arrests of the teens reminded many in the community of the shooting of Latjor Tuel,a former child soldier who was shot and killed by police on the sidewalk of a busy street in southeast Calgary in Feb. 2022. Tuel's family members say he was suffering from PTSD.

If lasting trust is to be established between the Calgary police and the South Sudanese community, Top said it needs to start with people not feeling like a target.

"Community members don't feel safe when they are stopped by the Calgary police as a community, we need to be treated like anybody else [in the city]."

Sail said police have taken positive steps toward building trust with the community, such as implementing diversity teams. But she added that when incidents like this occur, these resources aren't used to their full potential. Sail is on the Calgary Police Service's African Advisory Board, which she saidhas not been consulted regarding thearrest of the teenage brothers.

"What's the point of having us ... if you don't utilize us?"

The speed with which police sought to withdraw the charges against the teen boys once social media footage of the shooting emergedis a good reason why the community should trust the force, said Neufeld.

But members of the community don't see it the same way.

"If nobody recorded the video, then these kids would have been put behind bars for years," said Top.

"So yes, in some ways we appreciate that it was corrected as quickly as possible and we appreciated the witness that recorded the video."