Brent Bowden was in disbelief as he removed a banana peel from the hood of his pickup truck in June 2024.
The Truro Police constable, who is African Nova Scotian, was aware of the long history of banana peels thrown at Black people, including Black athletes, as a racist taunt. Bowden wanted to know how the peel ended up on his truck.
“The racial context between Black people and monkeys are very relevant with bananas and what the undertones of that means, and it’s nothing new,” said Bowden in an interview with CBC News.
Truro Police Service security camera footage obtained in August by CBC News shows two officers leaving the detachment in pouring rain — one is carrying a banana. The pair enter an unmarked police vehicle.
As the vehicle drives through the adjoining parking lot, the peel is tossed from the passenger-side window. It lands on Bowden’s truck.
Bowden has not returned to duty since the incident happened more than a year ago. It has resulted in complaints under the Police Act and a battle over representation with his union.
The Truro Police Service and Town of Truro say they took the issue seriously. Police Chief David MacNeil was made aware of the incident the next day and internal meetings occurred in the weeks that followed.
Those meetings included an African Nova Scotian community leader to provide support to Bowden. The Truro police board chair Coun. Wayne Talbot, who is also African Nova Scotian, was also informed of the incident by MacNeil.
“A thorough internal investigation was completed on this incident prior to the filing of the Police Act complaint, which included reviewing the surveillance video. There was no evidence to suggest this was done intentionally,” said Alison Grant, a spokesperson for the Town of Truro and Truro Police Service, in a statement.
However, Bowden says the response lacked disciplinary measures for the officers involved, and they were not held accountable. He said the investigation was just “checking a box” in a bid to keep the controversy quiet.
“My concerns were ignored. I was met with deflection and there was no solution given to me other than my return to work like nothing ever happened,” he said.
The town’s return-to-work plan for Bowden involved the two other officers avoiding contact with him.
Bowden filed a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner against the two officers involved, which was investigated by an African Nova Scotian officer.
The final report said it was important to acknowledge how Bowden perceived the situation, but there was no finding of misconduct under the Police Act.
“The factors considered — including the context of the previous interactions, the actions observed in the video, and the lack of prior allegations or intent — do not meet the threshold for sustaining the allegation,” said the conclusion.
Bowden and a Truro police inspector both said the banana peel may have been part of an ongoing workplace joke about slipping on a banana peel, according to submissions in the Police Act investigation.
DeRico Symonds, a director of engagement at the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute, said the intention of the peel toss is irrelevant given the impact it had on Bowden.
“People, every day, may do actions that they may consciously be aware of, or they may not be aware of the particular harm,” said Symonds, whose group has been working with Bowden.
The final report recommended the police service implement more training on topics such as cultural competency and unconscious bias, which the Town of Truro said has happened. The town says there is also now a clearer process to file complaints and a new whistleblower policy in the wake of the report’s recommendations. The town’s equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility co-ordinator is also able to help guide complainants through the process.
Another complaint which Bowden filed against MacNeil, the police chief, was also not sustained.
In both complaints the verdict took longer than the statutory 60-day investigative timeline. In the first, there were 121 days between the filing and final report, and the second took 90 days.
“In most cases, 60 days is not sufficient for any number of legitimate reasons,” said Bill MacDonald, the police complaints commissioner for Nova Scotia, speaking generally.
Since the complaints were internal, there is no mechanism for appeal before the Police Review Board. That resulted in Bowden filing a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.
MacDonald said he believes there should be a partial allowance for that in certain circumstances. That would require an amendment to the Police Act.
There is currently no return-to-work date for Bowden.
Despite the promise of distance between himself and the two officers, Bowden declined to return to duty which resulted in the suspension of temporary earnings replacement benefits in October 2024.
Later that year, the suspension was determined to not be appropriate in a decision by a Workers’ Compensation Board hearing officer.
“I do not characterize the worker’s refusal to return to work as an unwillingness. Rather, I find it was due to inability, and that inability is directly linked to his compensable injury,” wrote hearing officer Donna Turner in the decision.
The town appealed that decision, but declined to discuss their appeal with CBC News, saying it is an internal human resources matter.
The banana peel incident came about a year after two other workplace incidents that contributed to Bowden developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
He was threatened with a knife while responding to an incident in March 2023, and then became stuck in a police vehicle in June 2023. Bowden is also an Afghanistan veteran and a former correctional services officer.
In his assessment of Bowden, psychologist Glenn Gray said PTSD is a condition that tends not to be completely resolved and can be exacerbated by new stressors, including perception of provocation and injustice.
“I feel that I’m never going to be able to return to work because of what has unfolded over this incident. I don’t feel supported. I don’t feel safe in the workplace,” Bowden said.
When asked what could make a return to work possible, Bowden said a public apology by the town to himself, his family and the Black community would go a long way.
The Atlantic Police Association, Bowden’s union, declined to represent him, saying it is a prosecution against another member. In June, the labour board said there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that there may have been a breach of the duty of fair representation.
The union, which did not return multiple requests for comment, had until July 15 to file a response. Bowden is awaiting word on whether that complaint will be dismissed or referred to a hearing.
It also remains to be seen what will be done with a complaint filed against Bowden. Earlier this year, Bowden shared a Facebook post from a former colleague making allegations against a Truro town employee that are unrelated to the banana peel incident.
The employee calls it “malicious and false information.”
The town threatened Bowden with legal action unless the social media post was removed — which he did. The town now says it has no plans to pursue legal action against Bowden over the post.
Bowden says he will continue to tell his story, and hopes that he can help others by sharing his experience.
“I stand on the shoulders of ancestral giants that have paved the road for me to become a police officer, to be a military combat veteran of Afghanistan, to stand to uphold the rule of law, to fight for people that don’t have a voice,” he said.
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