Police seek Riel gravestone vandal
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/11/2022 (1105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Winnipeg Police Service is asking for the public’s help to find the suspect who defaced the gravestone of Métis leader Louis Riel, which is being treated as a possible hate crime.
The announcement was made Wednesday, the 137th anniversary of Riel’s execution.
“There’s still people out there that still have wrongful intentions,” said David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Métis Federation. “It’s a very small minority that are playing this negative game. The majority, representing all of Manitoba, is there to show support.”
WPS
The Winnipeg Police Service is asking for the public’s help to find the suspect who defaced the gravestone of Métis leader Louis Riel.
On Oct. 14, a man repeatedly scratched Riel’s tombstone in St. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery, police said in a release.
Police learned about the vandalism a few days later, after the MMF filed a report. On Wednesday, WPS released photos of the suspect.
Chartrand credited police for distributing the photos, and said the federation will stop at nothing to catch the alleged vandal.
“We are not going to give up. We will find him, one way or another,” Chartrand said. “(I want) to ask him, why would you do this?… An innocent person lays there and what did he do wrong to you? Why would try to do damage an insult our nation?”
Chartrand noted the vandalism might draw comparisons to the emotionally charged protest July 1, 2021, during which protesters pulled down statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth on the Manitoba Legislative Building grounds.
He has criticized the actions of those protesters and said two wrongs don’t make a right.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Scratches across Métis leader Louis Riel’s name and on his face can be seen in photo of grave stone.
Riel helped found Manitoba by establishing a provisional government and negotiating its entry into Confederation. He led the Métis in two resistance movements against the federal government, and was later convicted of treason and hanged at the Northwest Mounted Police barracks in Regina.
On Wednesday, officials from the city, province, RCMP and WPS gathered at Riel’s grave site to commemorate his achievements.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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