Wesakechak

I’ve never met Dallas Courchene, but I’d sure like to.

If I did, I would tell him that his clarity of thought, his compassion and his honesty this week during a very dark period of his life is nothing short of extraordinary.

Courchene’s older brother Eric Daniels was fatally shot by police over the weekend after officers say Daniels threatened them with a machete and refused to drop it.

Daniels was aboriginal. And the temptation by some in this city when an aboriginal person is shot after threatening the lives of police officers is to accuse cops of racism, even in the absence of evidence to support the claim.

Not so for Courchene, who is also aboriginal.

In fact, he says he’s grown tired of those baseless, malicious accusations and says it’s time for people to start taking responsibility for their actions.

“My brother was responsible for his actions and he decided to do what he did even though he was drunk or intoxicated,” said Courchene. “I’ve had enough of aboriginals blaming police and saying it’s racism. I’m aboriginal myself and I’m sick and tired of it.”

[...]

A thought provoking article. Perhaps if we as a society decide to take on the same sense of values and responsibility as Dallas Courchene, then Eric Daniels might still be alive. Read the full story here.