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No charges against police for woman who claims they gave her a concussion while being arrested

'I find that the Complainant has little credibility, as her version of events is directly contradicted by all of the other witnesses'
2015 11 24 police LIghts

The Special Investigations Unit has decided there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against a North Bay Police officer after a serious injury was claimed by a 49-year-old woman during her arrest in September of 2017.

The woman had been arrested and jointly charged with criminal harassment stemming from an argument with her neighbours.

She later complained that she had been physically assaulted by police during her arrest in September. Two days later she had gone to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a mild concussion and soft tissue damage.

Leading to the arrest, a neighbour said the woman had come onto her property while intoxicated and threatened to knock her down. That was denied by the accused but she agreed that, in the future, she would walk her dog on the opposite side of the street in order to avoid any further confrontation.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on that same afternoon police got a second call that the woman was yelling at children walking on the street and was photographing them.

Police returned and found her recording children across the street on her cell phone. She told police that the children were harassing her and that she was recording their behaviour. When the officer asked to see the recording, she refused.

The officer crossed the street and spoke with the children. The children told him that the woman had been yelling at them and calling them derogatory and offensive names. A witness told the officer that he had seen the woman yelling at children on several occasions and that this was an ongoing problem. the officer decided that he had reasonable ground to arrest the woman for criminally harassing the children.

As two officers approached the home, she hurried back into the house, refusing to leave.

A witness estimated that the two police officers were at least an hour and a half trying to persuade her to come out while the woman yelled and swore.

Eventually, the woman left the house and two police officers moved to place her under arrest.

She then fled toward her fence, chased by two officers who then cornered her and took her to the ground.

No part of her body at any time came into contact with the fence and none of the four witnesses saw an officer punch or kick the woman to apply any unnecessary force.

Once she was down on the ground, a police officer knelt on her back and she was handcuffed and then stood up and placed inside of the police cruiser.

However, the woman later claimed she was thrown against the fence and that her head was then pushed into the ground, following which the officer kicked or stomped on the back of her head, something directly contradicted by four of the independent civilian witnesses.

Medical records indicate that there were no obvious signs of bruising or swelling and there was no abrasion to her scalp. All x-rays of her body and the CT scan of her head came back as normal.

"It appears from the medical records that the diagnosis of a mild concussion was based solely on the self-reporting by the Complainant as to her symptoms, without any physical indications to support her complaints," said SIU Director Tony Loparco. "I find that the Complainant has little credibility, as her version of events is directly contradicted by all of the other witnesses, with the exception of her on-again, off-again boyfriend and I am left with serious doubts as to whether the Complainant suffered any serious injury at all in view of the contents of the medical records."

She also complained of being thrown down a set of stairs.

"With respect to the amount of force used by the officers in their attempts to arrest the Complainant, I find that their behavior was more than justified in the circumstances and that they used no more force than necessary to subdue the Complainant, who was clearly intoxicated and abusive, and was going to great lengths to thwart the officers’ intentions of arresting her," added Loparco.


Jeff Turl

About the Author: Jeff Turl

Jeff is a veteran of the news biz. He's spent a lengthy career in TV, radio, print and online, covering both news and sports. He enjoys free time riding motorcycles and spoiling grandchildren.
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