The audio should lend weight to earlier allegations by Indigenous arrestees that they were transported in what appeared to be dog kennels and subjected to pain compliance techniques. Wet’suwet’en land defenders describe a pattern of violent and degrading treatment by officers before, during and after arrests.

What the actual fuck.

“They all had the fuckin’ paint like, are you an orc?” one officer says. On the other mic, two more police discuss the journalists arrested that day with Sleydo’ and Shay Lynn Sampson. “The one Amber chick is fine, the media chick. She’s clean and normal. But the one dude is a fuckin’ tool,” a voice says, in reference to Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano.

“Do they have fuckin’ face paint on too? They’re not orcs?” says another officer. “The Uruk-Hai, yeah, they burst from the earth,” says the first as the other giggles. Superintendent Elliott shook his head. “That is unacceptable. I’ll offer my personal apologies. That should never have happened.”