The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has concluded its investigation and found that a woman injured while being jailed in Nanaimo didn’t suffer serious harm.
The investigation stemmed from an incident on Oct. 1 when at about 4:30 a.m., police responded to a reported disturbance at a residence in the 200 block of Ninth Street where a woman was arrested and taken to RCMP detachment cells.
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According to an IIO B.C. press release, video evidence from the RCMP detachment indicates that, while being processed, the woman was not co-operating with officer requests and attempted to pull away. Two officers each gained control of one arm and as the woman continued to pull, all three fell to the ground. The woman did not report any injury to police and video evidence showed no overt signs of discomfort or uses of force during the rest of her time at the detachment.
Four days later the woman attended a medical centre and was found to have three broken ribs, which required no treatment.
The IIO’s chief civilian director reviewed the evidence, which included video, medical records, statements from the woman and one civilian witness, and police records, and determined that the injuries sustained by the woman did not “meet the threshold for serious harm as defined by the Police Act.”
The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of the police in B.C. that investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, regardless of whether there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
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