‘A quick arrest of a youth for a minor offence that results in a broken bone does not serve the public trust in the same way that careful and thoughtful community policing does,’ reads report from police watchdog for the Yukon A Whitehorse RCMP officer who arrested a teen girl for a minor offence without taking the time to speak with her and commented “don’t fight with the police” didn’t help the situation and in fact may have perpetuated negative stereotypes about police officers, according to the police watchdog for the Yukon. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigates when Yukon RCMP officers may have caused serious injuries or death and allegations of police misconduct. It found that while there’s no reason to believe that Whitehorse RCMP officers committed a crime during the April 8, 2023, arrest, that doesn’t mean they dealt with the girl, who was 17 years old at the time, in a “respectful and professional manner,” according to the report signed by assistant executive director Matthew Block. “A quick arrest of a youth for a minor offence that results in a broken bone does not serve the public trust in the same way that careful and thoughtful community policing does,” reads the report. Evidence suggests the minor, who isn’t named in the report but is identified as the affected person (AP), was causing a disturbance at the time, thus the officers didn’t commit an offence by making the arrest and were entitled to take “physical control” and transport her for arrest processing, per the report. “The available evidence suggests that the subject officers were unaware that the AP’s leg was stuck and they did not intend to injure her. There is therefore no criminal liability in relation to the AP’s leg being broken,” the report concludes. ASIRT doesn’t deal with disciplinary matters, according to the report, which indicates discipline is left to RCMP. On April 19, 2023, APTN reported that a 17-year-old Inuk-Dene girl’s mom said an altercation with Yukon RCMP on April 8, 2023, left her daughter in hospital and needing surgery. The mother told APTN that her daughter was drinking with friends in downtown Whitehorse. When two RCMP officers arrived, the girls’ friends took off. That left her alone and heavily intoxicated, APTN reported. The mother suggested the bar was low for police becoming aggressive and detaining her. “It’s heartbreaking. As a parent, you put trust in public servants and you trust them with your livelihood, with your children, and I feel like it’s failed,” the mother said, as reported by APTN. Video published by APTN shows a heavily bruised and swollen area around the girl’s right knee. The ASIRT report cites that she “suffered a complete anterior dislocation of her right knee, with a small bone fragment in the knee joint.” ASIRT’s report indicates that during the arrest, the girl’s right leg somehow ended up somewhere around the wheel well of the police vehicle as one or both of the officers, who were behind her, struggled with her. “Based on the video, it is not possible to determine if the AP’s leg slipped or was moved by external force. The AP then yelled out, ‘ow! Ow!’ The officers pushed her upper body down to the rear seat,” reads the report. The altercation continued and the girl yelled in pain again. “Her right leg appeared to be at an unnatural angle and she had lost that shoe,” the report goes on. Blood-alcohol testing during hospital treatment confirmed she was intoxicated from alcohol, according to the report. The investigation involved interviewing the affected girl and paramedics who treated her that day, as well as RCMP radio communications and video from the two officers’ police vehicle and the Whitehorse Correctional Centre. The investigators were unsuccessful in contacting civilian witnesses who were with the girl before police got involved, as noted in the report. Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
Whitehorse RCMP arresting teen girl broke bone and public trust: ASIRT report
