Stacey Hill named first Hamilton police liaison officer

As the first Hamilton Police Service Indigenous liaison officer Stacey Hill says she wants to be a bridge" between both of her worlds.

Growing up on Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, being a police officer was something I wanted to be since I was a little girl," Hill said in an interview with The Spectator. It was like a calling."

As both Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe, she knows there is a long history in Indigenous communities of not trusting police, stemming from residential schools and the Sixties Scoop. But she also draws inspiration from her families to serve as an officer. Her Haudenosaunee side of the family is Bear Clan, known as protectors and guardians," she said. On her Anishinaabe side she is Marten Clan, who are hunters and warriors.

Hill said she didn't want to police her home community, but was interested in an urban setting where there are not many Indigenous officers. In her work in Hamilton she has tried to incorporate a holistic and Indigenous way of doing things, including educating colleagues and trying to recruit more Indigenous officers.

It is these teachings and her more than 25-year policing career that Hill brings as Hamilton's first Indigenous liaison officer.

Hill, wearing a handmade jingle dress, was welcomed by the community in a ceremony at Pier 4 Friday, including songs, welcoming talks and a sacred fire. Hill was presented with an eagle feather, a significant honour in the Indigenous community meant to represent the good work she has done and will do moving forward.

The liaison position is meant to open up better communication between Indigenous communities and the police service. It has long been a wish of the community, but it came to the forefront as part of the demands after a Hamilton officer was captured on video stomping on the head of an Indigenous man during a violent arrest.

The police service was quick to condemn the actions and acted swiftly, suspending and then charging the officer. At the time, the hiring of an Indigenous liaison officer was already in the works. Const. Brian Wren was charged criminally and, earlier this year, pleaded guilty to assaulting Patrick Tomchuk.

In an interview, Lyndon George, Indigenous justice co-ordinator at the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, said what happened to Tomchuk and his and his family's bravery to push for it to be exposed was the catalyst that propelled Hamilton's Indigenous community into action, organizing to demand changes after 20 years of asking for a liaison officer.

We know that Hamilton Police Service would better exist in their relationship with the Indigenous community if we were able to provide them with a good solid group of community leaders and advocates with whom they can come and consult when these things happen," said George, whose spirit name is NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun (Longfeather). And then work on how do we prevent these things from happening."

The community has also created an Indigenous Consultation Circle, which includes Hill, that will be a resource for police to address issues, educate and work on strategies to prevent conflict.

George said that since the Tomchuk incident he has heard from a number of Indigenous community members about their own bad experiences with police or other agencies that were not captured on video. There are also community members who have been victims of crime, but are scared to come forward and report to police. The hope is that the consultation circle and the Indigenous liaison officer mark the beginning of a better relationship with police and better communication.

Laura Workman, executive director of the Native Women's Centre and fellow consultation circle member, said what is at issue is the construct of power and needing to involve Indigenous voices.

People say the system is broken, but it's not broken, it's doing what it's supposed to do, destroy us," she said in an interview, adding that Indigenous people are finally saying enough."

Indigenous people represent high numbers in all the places we don't want to be," she said, pointing to overrepresentation in jails, violence against women, child apprehensions. This stems from colonialism where they took our world and flipped it upside down."

We are trying very, very slowly to try to set things back ... we need to get back to our original ways of knowing and being," she said.

The hope is that Hill, with a foot in both worlds, will help. That is why it was important to have the welcoming ceremony, so that Hamilton's Indigenous community can see her and know they can come to her, George said.

Police Chief Frank Bergen, who spoke at the welcoming ceremony, acknowledged the challenges of the past and said what is happening now is honest conversation rooted in trust, respect and wisdom.

I am confident today that we have stepped on our first path of that long, long journey," he said.

Community members wanting to get in touch with Hill can reach her at shill@hamiltonpolice.ca.

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com