Police force used not excessive, says ASIRT

Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has cleared police of any wrongdoing in an incident in which a woman’s arm was broken. On March 2, 2013, RCMP responded to a call at a home on the Samson Cree Nation. A woman was arrested and taken to the RCMP Hobbema detachment. While in custody, she sustained a fracture to her right arm. She was transported to hospital for medical treatment. Six police officers and four civilians were interviewed as witnesses along with the woman who was arrested. ASIRT also examined the video from the RCMP cell block area which captured the entire incident. ASIRT determined that the woman was intoxicated at the time and while being physically restrained, force was applied in an attempt to control her. As a result, she sustained the injury to her right arm. After having considered all of the evidence, including the opinion of Crown counsel, ASIRT executive director Clifton Purvis was satisfied that the officer was justified in applying force and that the force used was not excessive.