IAA's Percy Potts roughed up by guards

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Edmonton, AB

A family shopping spree turned into a nightmare of humiliation for Indian leader Percy Potts when he was charged with trespassing at the Eaton Centre shopping mall in

downtown Edmonton August 29.

Potts, a Treaty 6 vice-president for the Indian Association of Alberta, was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed by mall security guards in the lobby of the centre's lavish hotel

after being accused of using an elevator that is only authorized for use by guests and visitors of the Eaton Centre Hotel.

Potts said he and his 12-year-old daughter Misty, were finished shopping for school clothes and were using the elevator to get to the mall's parkade.

"But I hadn't been there since they remodelled and we were lost. So we got off (the elevator) because we couldn't figure it out," he said.

"The guard singled us out."

Potts, 35, said the lone guard demanded he and his daughter leave the mall or they would be cited for trespassing.

Potts claimed he was unaware elevator use was restricted but asked the guard why he wasn't asking other mall shoppers for identification.

After that, Potts said, the trouble began.

"He grabbed me and threw me down, then called over two more guys to put handcuffs on me. My daughter was standing there watching, but they didn't seem to care about

that," he fumed.

"It was humiliating."

He said his hand was badly cut during the scuffle and his thumb was also injured.

Eaton Centre security guards refused comment on the incident.

Triple Five Corp. Ltd., owner of Eaton Centre, has strict policies on who and who doesn't use its elevators, said the corporation's superintendent of shopping centres.

Selma Linzer said the hotel's elevators are "clearly" marked with signs stating they are restricted for use by hotel guests and the handicapped. She claimed mall security guards

are required to ask everyone using the elevators to prove they are guests or visitors of the hotel.

""Don't be silly," she responded when asked if guards were told to single out certain people they don't believe are staying in the hotel. They are required to check everyone,

she said.

Fil Fraser, chairman of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, doesn't buy that explanation.

"I've been there (Eaton Center hotel) a number of times. There are ordinarily shoppers coming and going and they are never stopped," he said.

"It would be highly unusual for anyone to be approached."

He said there could be a basis for a human rights violation if a complaint was brought to his office.

An Edmonton police spokesman said Potts was not taken into custody but was later given a summons to appear in court for trespassing.

He did say trespassing charges are laid "frequently" by security officials at the Eaton Centre shopping mall but couldn't specify if the charges were stemming from unauthorized

use of the hotel elevator.

Potts' arrest by mall security is another example of the stigma attached to minorities in the province, said the president of the Alberta Human Rights and Civil Liberties

Association.

George Richardson lashed out at corporate policy that permits employees to use physical force in confrontations with customers and patrons.

"We have a serious problem with society. It has to be realized the days of thumping people are over," he said.

"You can't single out and mistreat people because they're different."