Investigation clears police officer of wrongdoing

A Cape Breton RCMP officer has been cleared of any wrong doing in the arrest last year of 17-year-old female who would later break her ankle while in custody.

An investigation report by the province’s independent Serious Incident Response Team, released Friday, concluded the arresting officer was not responsible for the injury that occurred in August in Waycobah.

The report noted that officers were called to a home on Aug. 23. to remove an intoxicated female.

The woman was placed under arrest for breaching the peace and under the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act after she made suicidal threats.

She was examined by EHS personnel because of her high level of intoxication and her threats to her personal safety. She was cleared medically and placed in police cells overnight.

The following day she was taken to the Strait Richmond Hospital in Evanston where an X-ray revealed she had a broken ankle.

During the course of the investigation, the woman admitted that while in police cells, she repeatedly kicked the cell door during the night and at one point heard a cracking sound and later notice her ankle was beginning to swell.

According to the investigator’s final report, the woman acknowledged there was nothing done by any police officer that caused or contributed to her injury.

The Serious Incident Response Team is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia.