The Nihtat GwichSA国际影视传媒檌n Council (NGC) has issued a public statement in response to what it called "considerable online discussion" about its involvement in an operation at Inuvik's Nova apartment complex on Aug. 17.
"The NGC wishes to clarify its role in the operation, as we understand that videos and photographs shared publicly on social media appear to show an officer opening the back door of a vehicle owned by the NGC, with commentary suggesting that the NGC or our staff was the target of the SA国际影视传媒檚 operation and that vehicles belonging to the NGC were searched for drugs," reads the statement, which was posted to the organization's official Facebook page.
"The NGC states that the videos and photographs circulated online have been taken entirely out of context and falsely suggest that the NGC was involved in illegal activities prompting action from the . In particular, the NGC is aware that misleading and false online photos or videos were posted by individuals appearing to mislead the community by altering the original social media post with respect to the operation."
The statement goes on to state "definitively" that the NGC was not the target of the police operation or any investigation.
"Rather, the contacted the NGC requesting to make use of the NGCSA国际影视传媒檚 vehicles, as large, passenger-carrying vehicles are limited in the community and required to support their ongoing police operations in the community," the Gwich'in organization stated. "The NGC willingly supported the SA国际影视传媒檚 request to make use of the NGCSA国际影视传媒檚 vehicles in connection with their legitimate law enforcement activities. The NGC played no other role in the SA国际影视传媒檚 operation. The decision to make vehicles available to the was made with the view of protecting the safety and well-being of the community as a whole."
The NGC concluded its statement by reminding residents that misinformation can spread quickly in small communities and requesting that anyone who posted false information about the organization's involvement in the investigation remove their posts.
It also called for an apology from "the individuals that have chosen to mislead the community."
