Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story (2003)

Winnipeg, March, 1988. In the dark wee hours of the morning, the police, with only vague descriptions of the suspects, are in active pursuit of two perpetrators of a robbery. In that pursuit, Constable Robert Cross confronts a native Indian man who ends up having nothing to do with the robbery, but who Cross shoots dead in the ensuing confrontation. That man is John Joseph Harper - J.J. - who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time as he was walking home from a night out with friends at a bar. The problem for the police is that J.J. is the well respected Chief of the Northern Lakes Reserve and recently named Executive Director of the Aboriginal Tribal Council. However, there are no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting, and thus Cross is able to have his account as the one and only in the public consciousness, which he states includes J.J. grabbing for his gun, which resulted in the shooting for Cross to protect himself. In private, Cross is slowly unraveling mentally about his part in killing another human being which may further prove problematic for the police. Police Chief Herb Stephen had long entrusted the responsibility within the force of protecting itself to Inspector Ken Dowson, who does whatever he needs to to place the force in a good light, regardless of the fact that he knows there is a culture of scorn against the urban native population within the force. Leading the charge for J.J. is his brother Harry Wood and their friend Joe, who hire attorney Harvey Pollock to represent J.J. at the upcoming inquest on this specific incident. As that inquest progresses, what they know they would like to see is a broader inquest of the actions of the police against the aboriginal population in the province so that there is never another death like J.J.'s in the future. Back at the Northern Lakes Reserve, J.J.'s father, James Harper, has his own view of what is best for the specific people involved, especially Constable Cross.