Aunt says Winnipeg police officer harassed 11-year-old niece after Palestinian rally | CBC News

A family has launched a complaint after they say an 11-year-old girl was harassed by a female police officer during a pro-Palestinian car rally in Winnipeg on Saturday.

Selma Jbara, a Tunisian immigrant, was with her mother, her 11-year-old niece and a friend when they were pulled over by Winnipeg police. 

“She looked at my niece and told her we can call child services on you. It is very possible … they can take you away from your family.”

The four were part of a large protest in which people marched from Portage Avenue and Main Street to the Manitoba Legislative Building as part of countrywide demonstrations in cities across Canada, calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that started Oct. 7.

After the march, protesters got in their cars and headed down Osborne Street, waving Palestinian flags, Jbara said. 

When they got to Confusion Corner, her friend, who was driving, turned onto Pembina Highway, she said. That’s where she saw police cars behind them, and they pulled over.

“They lit up their lights.… They came out of their police cars and came to our windows.”

Jbara said they didn’t know why they were pulled over, but the male and female officer “started yelling and telling us that we are stupid for going in cars and protesting.”

“The female officer came to my window and started using vulgar words,” she said. “They weren’t nice words.”

Jbara asked the officer to not use that language in front of her niece. The officer replied, “‘I don’t care’ and told me to put that ‘shit flag away,'” Jbara said.

When Jbara asked the officer for her badge number and that she apologize to the girl, the officer continued cussing at her niece, she said, and told them they were stupid.

The officer asked the girl where her mom was, Jbara said.

When the niece said she was with her grandma and aunt, the officer questioned why she wasn’t with her mom and threatened her, telling her “we can call child protective services and they can take you away from your family,” Jbara said.

She said after the officer walked away, her niece was crying uncontrollably and started having a panic attack so she took her to the sidewalk to calm her down.

Jabara said she filed a police report online after the interaction.

The Winnipeg Police Service said it is aware of the incident and it is being reviewed by the professional standards unit.

The female police officer gave Jbara and her friend a $298 ticket each for not wearing a seatbelt, Jbara said, and her friend got another $149 ticket for not using her signal light.

Jbara said the officer seemed more calm when she was issuing the tickets so she asked her to apologize to the girl.

Jbara said the officer responded by saying, “I am sorry you have a stupid aunt.” 

“Then she told me she could have given me more tickets, if there wasn’t a child here.”

Jbara said her sister filed a complaint about the officer with Manitoba’s Law Enforcement Review Agency.

Her niece is still shaken up by the incident and keeps saying child services haven’t yet come to take her, Jbara said.

What happened won’t deter the family from taking part in rallies, she said. 

“Nobody should give up on anything,” she said. “We are still going to protest for Palestine and march for Palestine.”

The Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba has held rallies nearly every weekend since the war started.

Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, said they will continue to rally until there’s a ceasefire. 

“The support which we have been getting from the people of Winnipeg has been amazing,” he said. “It shows me we are not alone.”

Zeid said it is troubling to hear what happened to Jbara and her family, especially since it involves Winnipeg police, but he hopes this is an isolated case.

“I am hoping this is a one-off incident,” he said.

The Winnipeg police have been very co-operative and understanding with the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba rallies, Zeid said.

He’s waiting to see what comes of the police investigation into the incident. 

Zeid urges the community not to feel negative toward the police and to remain calm. 

“People can still go and make reports toward the police. Our dealings with the police have been, for the most part, positive, and let’s see what the incident brings forward.”