John Joseph "J.J." Harper was a Canadian aboriginal leader from Wasagamack, Manitoba, who was shot and killed by Winnipeg police constable Constable Robert Cross on March 9, 1988. That event, along with the murder of Helen Betty Osborne, sparked the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry.[1]
During the an altercation between Police and Mr. Harper, Constable Robert Cross's weapon discharged resulting in Mr. Harper's death. J.J. Harper's family was so enraged by the murder that his youngest daughter, Zoey, hanged herself in protest. It was initially ruled an accident; however, a strong public outcry lead to an inquiry (the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry). The inquiry eventually concluded that Constable Robert Cross had used excessive force in the fatal confrontation [2].