RCMP officers mocked people being arrested at Wet'suwet'en blockade as 'orcs' and 'ogre'

Warning: this story contains distressing details.

RCMP officers referred to First Nations pipeline opponents as "orcs" and "ogre" during a police raid at a blockade of Coastal GasLink pipeline construction in November 2021, according to audio recordings played in court Wednesday.

The recordings were played as evidence in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers in an abuse of process application filed by Sleydo', also known as Molly Wickham, a Wing Chief of Cas Yikh, a house group of the Gidimt'en Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation; Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan woman with Wet'suwet'en family ties and Corey Jocko, who is Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Akwesasne, which straddles the Quebec, Ontario and New York state borders. 

The accused were found guilty last week of criminal contempt of court for breaking a 2019 injunction that impedes anyone from blocking work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline. 

The abuse of process application alleges RCMP used excessive force when they were arrested and that they were treated unfairly while in custody. The filing asks that if the judge doesn't stay their charges, then it would be appropriate to reduce their sentences based on their treatment by police.

During the cross-examination of RCMP Supt. James Elliott, who was part of the emergency response team as a commander, defence lawyer Frances Mohan played three audio clips. 

The audio recordings came from journalist Amber Bracken, who at the time was on assignment for news outlet The Narwhal, and documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano. Both were arrested at a tiny house on the Marten Forest Service Road on Nov. 19, 2021.

The audio was recorded on microphones that were left on during the arrests. Some of these recordings were published in The Narwhal in 2022.

In an audio recording played in court, police officers can be heard referring to blockade members with face paint on as "orcs." Orcs are fictional monsters known for having traits such as being brutish, aggressive, and ugly. 

Sleydo' and Sampson both were wearing red dresses and had red handprints painted over their mouths on Nov.19, 2021, when they were arrested. Red dresses and handprints are both symbols for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. 

"It is especially offensive when that red handprint refers to the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls movement, to compare that to monsters from a fantasy series," said Mahon. 

Elliott said this was unacceptable and apologized for the officers, though he said he didn't know who the officers in the recording were. 

RCMP officers in another audio clip played in court again refer to blockade members in face paint as orcs and can be heard laughing. 

The same officers in this audio clip are also heard laughing about a person Mohan said was arrested Nov. 18, 2021.