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Kelowna cop won’t be charged after woman seriously injured during arrest

B.C.’s police watchdog determined the officer did not use excessive force
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An RCMP officer will not face charges after a woman was seriously injured during an arrest last year, according to B.C.’s police watchdog.

The police officer was following up on a complaint that was made regarding the noise level a woman was making inside her apartment Feb. 28, 2018, according to an Independent Investigations Office of BC report.

The woman said the officer used excessive force against her by “foot sweeping her and causing her to fall,” and said the officer burst into her room, swiped at the back of her knee, causing her to fall, where she broke her leg and was put in handcuffs.

The officer said the woman refused to turn down the volume of the music, and after warning her, the officer made the arrest.

When the officer grabbed the woman’s arm, she pulled away, tripped and fell, and brought both herself and the officer to the floor, the officer said.

The woman claimed the officer didn’t call an ambulance for 15 minutes, however, records show that a call was made within three minutes of the incident, the IIO ruled in its statement.

The IIO noted that the officer did not report the injury to the IIO at the time of the incident, nor did the woman’s complaint to the IIO trigger the notification.

“RCMP Command has been advised of this failure to report the incident to the IIO,” it said.


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