Report Released in HRP Arrest of Woman

The province's Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has concluded that no charges should be laid against two Halifax Regional Police (HRP) officers involved in an arrest of a 55- year-old woman in Dartmouth in March.

At approximately 3:30 p.m., March 4, 2013, two HRP officers responded for the second time in 15 minutes to a woman seen jumping in front of cars on Highway 111 in Dartmouth.  She appeared to be suffering from mental difficulties, and her actions made it clear she was a risk to herself and others.  As they attempted to arrest her she kicked at the officers and tried to bite them, even after an arm restraint was used to try to control her.  During the restraint, the officers felt her arm was injured. They ceased applying force and called for paramedics to attend. While the woman did not complain about an injury, she was taken to hospital where it was determined she had a broken upper arm.

SiRT has concluded that the officers had a duty to arrest, and applied reasonable force both to arrest the woman and to protect them in self-defence from the woman’s actions. Witnesses who observed the arrest confirm the reasonableness of the officers’ actions. There are no grounds to consider charges in this matter.

The full report is available at http://sirt.novascotia.ca .

SiRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. Investigations are under the direction and control of independent civilian director Ron MacDonald.

Media Contact: Ron MacDonald, QC
                         Director
                         Serious Incident Response Team
                         902-424-8400
                         Cell: 902-718-9707 
                         E-mail:macdonrj@gov.ns.ca