A Truro Police constable remains off the job more than a year after a fellow officer threw a banana peel at his vehicle. He believes the incident was racially motivated but the Town of Truro says there is no evidence to suggest it was intentional. Luke Ettinger reports.
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.
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