Funeral, wake to be held today for Fort Albany's Joey Knapaysweet, Agnes Sutherland - Action News
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Funeral, wake to be held today for Fort Albany's Joey Knapaysweet, Agnes Sutherland

Mourners in Fort Albany, Ont., will pay tribute today to two people from the First Nation, both dead following separate interactions with the Timmins Police Service.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit investigating both deaths

Two portraits side by side.
Joey Knapaysweet, left, and Agnes Sutherland are being mourned and remembered in separate services in Fort Albany, Ont., today. Both died in Timmins, Ont., over the weekend after separate interactions with the local police. (Facebook/mironwilson.com)

Mourners in Fort Albany, Ont., will paytribute today totwo people from the First Nation, both dead following separate interactions with theTimminsPolice Service.

According to theprovince's Special Investigations Unit, a 21-year-old man wasshot in Timminsnear Gillies Lake on Saturday after fleeing police. Indigenous leaders have identifiedthe man asJoeyKnapaysweet.

His funeral is being held in Fort Albany today.

Agnes Sutherland, 62, died in hospital on Sunday after being arrested and jailed followinga disturbance at a Timminsshelter.

A statement issued jointly by three prominent James Bay chiefs this week said of Sutherland's death, "It is alleged that when police attended at the scene of the local shelter Ms. Sutherland was treated roughly while being taken into police custody."

"She suffered severe complications during her detention and ultimately was taken to hospital where she died Sunday evening."

According to her obituary, a wake and a viewing will be held tonight for the mother of six.

According to the Chiefs' statement, both Knapaysweetand Sutherland left the remote community of Fort Albany,near Ontario's James Bay coast, to seek medical care inTimmins.

Accusations of systemic racism have flown since the deaths. Area politicians, including Timmins mayor Steve Black, are cautioning people to wait for the results of the SIU's investigations before arriving at any conclusions.

By law, police are prohibited from commenting on a case during an SIU investigation.