Justice For Jared Lowndes

The mother of Jared Lowndes, Laura Holland, is asking for community support to seek justice for her son.

On July 8, Jared Lowndes, a 38-year-old Wet’suwet’en man and father of two young girls, was shot and killed by RCMP outside of a Tim Hortons in Campbell River, BC. But the life of this loving father who “lived for his kids” has been brutally overshadowed by RCMP and early media coverage that centered the death of a police service dog involved in the incident.

“Tributes pour in for police dog Gator, killed in the line of duty in Campbell River” read the first headline published on July 8th in the local paper, with only passing mention of the man who lost his life, addressed only as “a male” and “the suspect.” On July 9, a memorial was set up for the service dog at the Cambell River RCMP detachment and on July 12, hundreds of people gathered for a procession for the dog.

Meanwhile, Jared’s own memorial has been repeatedly vandalized and his family has been dealing with racist and hateful comments online as they try to mourn this tragic loss and yet another death of an Indigenous person at the hands of police.

One week before his death, Jared wrote about the trauma he experienced in foster care and his family’s long history of colonial abuse, words which have been shared over Facebook.

The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) has called for justice , accountability, an inquest, and a higher level of oversight after Jared’s death, stating “when the RCMP attempted to stop him on an outstanding warrant, boxing him in at a Tim Hortons and sending in a police service dog, his experiences as an Indigenous man likely left him fearful, re-traumatized, and acting in self-defence. The police put Jared into an unnecessary, preventable situation that forced him to act under extreme duress and fear. After Jared stabbed the police service dog in what is speculated to have been an attempt to defend his own puppy, the police shot Jared multiple times in the head.” The RCMP released a statement blaming Lowndes for his own death, even though their own oversight agency has not completed its investigation.

At a memorial procession on July 20, Jared’s mother, Laura Holland, spoke to the crowd: “Jared would have wanted us to be loud. We're going to stop Canada from killing Indigenous people with impunity…My son is gone, I can never see his face again, but he's with me. I'll take him with me in everything that I do. Every breath I take, I'll bring my boy with me.”

This GoFundMe has been set up at the request of Laura by an ally and friend, Lindsay Potts, to cover the cost of lawyers and other legal fees involved in pursuing Justice for Jared, with any additional funds going directly to his two daughters. All donations are being deposited directly to Laura. Please share and donate if you are able. This is the only official GoFundMe for Jared and his family.

If you would like more information, there has been extensive media coverage of Jared’s death, with honest and thorough reporting by the Tyee, including this article published on July 16: https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/07/16/Family-Mourns-Their-Own-Police-Mourn-Dog/ and this one on July 21: https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/07/21/Rolling-Memorial-Jared-Lowndes-Stopped-Visit-Police-Who-Killed-H/