An abuse complaint against the Yorkton RCMP by a 42-year-old Cote First Nation woman has been settled out-of -court.
In February 2012, Ethel Lynn Pelly was driving south of Yorkton when she was stopped by police and arrested on hydromorphone trafficking charges.
In her statement of claim, Yorkton attorney Thomas Campbell lays out a disturbing tale of abuse starting with handcuffs being so roughly and tightly applied that, the statement says, Pelly still suffers from the injury caused.
When she was lodged in cells, the water was turned off to the toilet and sink. She was strip-searched by two female officers and her bra was taken from her. Pelly said she was wearing a see-through shirt leaving her breasts clearly visible including to male officers she claimed were present causing her “extreme anxiety and embarrassment.”
Furthermore, the statement continued, Pelly was menstruating at the time, and the officers took away her extra pads. With no water for up to 15 hours, the stench in the cell became “nauseating and unbearable causing severe distress to the plaintiff.
Pelly complained throughout the night about the treatment, but was ignored and denied the opportunity to talk to counsel, she said.
Campbell contends the acts of the officers were contrary to the Criminal Code, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Regulations, and/or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The statement concludes that: “All the foregoing actions of the police constables and jail guards, individually and collectively, evidence serious moral turpitude and whether done intentionally or negligently, inflicted severe mental suffering on the Plaintiff which has traumatized her up to the present time.”
In the Attorney General of Canada’s statement of defence, the Crown expressly denies all of the allegations except that Pelly’s bra was removed for her own protection and that the water was turned off, which the AG said was justified.
“This created a dry cell intended to allow the Plaintiff to discharge any drugs that she may have internalized and to prevent the Plaintiff from disposing of them,” the defence statement reads.
Police had long ago admitted to the water having been turned off and apologized in a letter to Campbell signed by Cpl. Tim Schwartz, then an officer with the Yorkton General Investigations Section (GIS), and Sgt. James Morton, then commander of the unit.
“Normal practice is to turn off the water so they can’t flush any evidence,” Morton said. “The guys got tied up with other calls and didn’t get the water back on. It happened; she was probably in there longer than she should have been.”
Once both the Pelly and Crown pleadings were submitted to the Court of Queen’s bench, the parties entered into mandatory mediation resulting in the out-of-court settlement, which precludes either side from revealing the details.
Sgt. Craig Cleary, a spokesperson for “F” Division, said the RCMP would not be making any comments on the settlement.
For her part, Pelly is relieved to have the case over with, but not satisfied with the result.
