Man who dumped dirt at landfill blockade confronted by protesters at his home By: Chris Kitching Posted: 2:32 PM CDT Thursday, Jul. 13, 2023 Last Modified: 6:00 PM CDT Thursday, Jul. 13, 2023 Updates

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Protesters gathered Wednesday night outside the Winnipeg home of a man who was heavily criticized for shovelling dirt and wood chips onto an MMIWG mural painted on the road at the Brady Road landfill blockade.

Kyle Klochko, 28, was jeered when he apologized to the crowd — while police officers stood between them — for defacing a red dress mural with heaps of mulch Sunday morning.

Police, who attempted to defuse the situation in the Weston neighbourhood, arrested a 19-year-old man, who allegedly threw a rock through a front window during the hours-long demonstration.

Outside his home Thursday, Klochko told the Free Press he is sorry for dumping material on a symbol that represents missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

“Do I think it was disrespectful? Yes, I do,” he said. “I regret my actions. I didn’t want to hurt those people who are hurting.”

Klochko,  who  is  white,  agreed  his  actions  escalated  tensions  in  the  city.  He  insisted  he  isn’t  racist  and  the  incident  wasn’t  racially  motivated.

However,  he  said  he’s  not  sorry  for  his  language  nor  the  opinions  he  expressed  while  arguing  Sunday  with  members  of  a  separate  protest  group  that  has  been  blocking  the  city-run  landfill’s  main  road  since  July  6.

A  barricade  was  erected  after  the  provincial  government  decided  last  week  not  to  support  a  search  of  the  Prairie  Green  Landfill,  north  of  Winnipeg,  for  the  remains  of  Morgan  Harris  and  Marcedes  Myran.

Police  believe  four  Indigenous  women  —  Harris,  Myran,  Rebecca  Contois  and  an  unidentified  victim  temporarily  named  Buffalo  Woman  by  elders  —  were  slain  by  an  alleged  serial  killer  in  2022.

The  City  of  Winnipeg  is  seeking  an  injunction  to  force  protesters,  including  Harris  family  members,  to  remove  the  road  obstruction.

Klochko,  who  runs  a  landscaping  business,  said  he  wasn’t  aware  of  the  barricade  when  he  went  to  Brady  Road  to  get  rid  of  mulch.

He  said  he  didn’t  go  to  the  site  for  a  confrontation  nor  to  deliberately  dump  waste  in  front  of  protesters.

Klochko,  who  is  originally  from  Teulon,  was  aware  of  the  demands  for  landfill  searches.

After  speaking  to  a  security  guard  posted  nearby,  Klochko  approached  the  group.  He  said  he  wanted  to  ask  about  the  protest  and  calls  for  governments  to  fund  searches  of  Prairie  Green  and  Brady  Road.

He  doesn’t  want  taxpayer  money  to  be  used  for  a  search.

An  Indigenous-led  feasibility  study  found  a  search  of  Prairie  Green  could  take  up  to  three  years  and  cost  up  to  $184  million.

After  an  initial  argument,  said  Klochko,  he  said  he  decided  in  the  “spur  of  the  moment”  to  park  his  pickup  truck  next  to  the  mural  and  shovel  mulch  onto  it  as  a  counter-protest.

“Do I think it was disrespectful? Yes, I do… I regret my actions.”–Kyle Klochko

Video showed Klochko dumping material and shouting “Take care of your own women,” while arguing with a man.

Harris’s daughter, Cambria Harris, reported the incident to the Winnipeg Police Service. A spokeswoman said the WPS opened an investigation, which may be ongoing.

Klochko said he told a police officer, who contacted him Monday, his actions were not racially motivated. “The police said they’re not looking to charge me at this time.”

As the footage circulated online, people identified Klochko and found out where he lived. He said his truck window was smashed Monday.

Rainey Raven, an organizer of Wednesday’s protest, said the video triggered her because she knows women or girls who’ve disappeared or been killed.

“Somebody shouldn’t get away for doing that,” she said of Klochko’s actions.

Klochko said police learned of the demonstration through social media posts and notified him before people arrived at about 6:45 p.m.

While the crowd became larger, protesters used paint to cover the front door, a wooden fence and sidewalk with red handprints. Yard waste was piled in front of the door.

Raven said police stepped in when the window was smashed.

A WPS news release said a suspect was arrested for mischief under $5,000 and released from custody.

Raven recorded video of Klochko’s apology, which was demanded by the crowd.

“I would rather the money be spent on living women who could be protected instead of women who are already dead,” he told protesters.

“What do you mean better spent? Those are our loved ones in there,” a woman shouted in response.

“The only real apology is changed behaviour,” another said.

Klochko told the Free Press about 50-100 people were outside.

The protest ended at about 11 p.m. Police stayed until about 2 a.m.

“The Winnipeg Police Service respects the right to freedom of expression and lawful assembly,” the police news release stated. “The expectation for all citizens participating in such assembly is to behave in a peaceful, and respectful manner.

“Violence will not be tolerated. Police must balance the rights of individuals to gather with the need to ensure public safety and keep the peace.”

As Klochko defended his views Thursday, Raven, 20, said his apology was full of excuses. “He needs to understand where we’re coming from.”

At Brady Road, Diane Bousquet, who was among those who painted the red dress mural and attended the protest at Klochko’s home the previous night, said his explanation caused “further insult.”

The focus must remain on calls for landfill searches, she said.

On Facebook, members of Harris’s family said they weren’t part of the protest nor did they condone or support the confrontation.

Klochko’s actions were also denounced by members of his family.

“I don’t agree with what he did,” said his brother, Taylor Klochko, who was in the truck’s front passenger seat Sunday. “I did not want to be a part of any of this.”

— with files from Tyler Searle

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris 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.