There's concern about police stops on Victoria's streets, social profiling, targeting vulnerable people - and the role that police are thrust into as first responders to those with mental health and addiction crises. Such a stop went terribly wrong in Portland Oregon in 2006 when a man died in police custody. Filmmaker Brian Lindstrom examined victim James Chasse's story; his childhood, his intense involvement in the early Portland punk music scene as a writer, illustrator and musician (The Wipers wrote the song "Alien Boy" about him), his heartbreaking teenage onset of mental illness, and his brave efforts to avoid institutionalization and maintain his independence. This film follows the struggle for his family to find justice after his tragic death, and a city and a system grappling with accountability. Portland's experience and changes since this event have lessons for our city. 91min 2013 R printable poster

Brian Lindstrom and Victoria Police Chief Frank Elsner will be on hand for the discussion that will follow our screening.

Nov 2/14 Dallas Rd incident and others "...At an annual Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Victoria in August, a report was released calling for improvements to police training and education in dealing with people who have mental health issues.

The report recognized a decline in mental-health services over the past seven years has led to a dramatic increase in police interactions with the mentally ill, and cited public concern over several high-profile fatal police shootings in B.C. John Gibson's situation and Rod's –released from EMP into police custody."

Listen to an interview of Brian Lindstrom by Gregor Craigie on CBC on 20 Apr 2015. Read a story by Michael Reid of the Times-Colonist.