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A school trustee in Prince George, B.C., says she’s shaken and scared after being surrounded by police with their guns drawn and then put in handcuffs, in what RCMP say was a case of mistaken identity.
Erica McLean is vice-chair of the local school board, originally from the Gitxsan Nation in Hazelton, as well as an author and athlete who works with youth in the community in north-central B.C.
She says she was in the parking lot of a local Starbucks Tuesday morning, parked in her vehicle, when an unmarked police car slowly bumped into the front of her SUV, followed by a second one boxing her in from the back.
What happened next, she says, was a blur, as she was surrounded by multiple officers with guns drawn shouting instructions at her.
“I froze,” she says. “I couldn’t understand, there were a lot of instructions … I remember thinking if I made the wrong move, there are so many weapons pointed at me, I could die. I really felt like my life was at risk.
“I was afraid that if I put my phone down or took my seat belt off that I could be shot. I was silently whispering, ‘What is happening? What is happening? How does this happen?'”
RCMP say they were following training
In a statement, RCMP did not dispute McLean’s version of events. They said they had received a report of a stolen vehicle the day prior, taken by suspects they believed to “be associated with a local crime syndicate.”
On Tuesday, the statement says, a local police unit believed they spotted the stolen vehicle in a parking lot and “our police officers followed their training for what they determined to be a high-risk vehicle stop, which includes using police vehicles to prevent movement of the suspect vehicle and engaging the occupants, in this instance a lone driver, with their firearms drawn.”
“We have been in contact with the driver several times since this incident occurred,” states Sgt. Dan Morris, commander of the Street Crew Unit, said in the written statement. “We have had the opportunity to explain what occurred to lead our police officers to believe hers was the vehicle we were looking for and have offered support from our Victim Services Unit and our detachment.”
Seeking answers
McLean says police explained what had happened to her on the scene and tried to calm her down, but she remains scared and scarred by the experience, and is having trouble sleeping as she goes through a “rollercoaster” of emotions.
While not seeking to cast blame, she is hoping to get more answers about what led to her being placed in a situation where she felt her life was at risk as police treated her as a danger to themselves and the public.
“There is a second or two where it was decided that I was a threat to public safety that warranted this kind of reaction and this type of force. And it’s within that margin where I have so many questions, not just for myself but for others in the community who may have experienced something like this.”
McLean says she’s since been contacted by multiple individuals as well as organizations offering support.
She says she’s weighing her next steps but does hope to speak to the local RCMP superintendent about what happened and how to move forward in a positive way.
She also says that as an elected official, she feels a responsibility to share her experience and learn about how it came to be.
“If this can happen to me, then what else might be happening out there?” she said.
