Woman sues RCMP, province

75-year-old says she was starved, shackled during wrongful arrest

A 75-year-old woman from Lac La Biche is suing the province and the RCMP for $625,000 for claims she was subjected to a wrongful arrest, verbal abuse and a lack of food for two days in a holding cell.

In a lawsuit filed this week, Lilly Fleming claims she was arrested on May 29, 2010, on a false report made by her husband that she breached a court order during a matrimonial dispute. Lilly Fleming had complained to RCMP that it was her husband who was breaching court orders by locking a driveway gate that denied her access to her home.

When an RCMP officer arrived at her home in Lac La Biche County in the evening, Lilly Fleming was arrested “without cause and without access to counsel,” the lawsuit states. She was driven to the St. Paul RCMP detachment and placed in a holding cell around 2:30 a.m.

“At no time during her detention was she asked about food or supper and at no time was she asked about any required medication or other health concerns during her period of confinement,” the lawsuit states.

On the morning of May 31, Fleming was led to the St. Paul courthouse in handcuffs and leg shackles. Inside, a provincial sheriff yelled at the small, elderly woman to “put her hands up against the wall, face the wall with her hands above her head, and put her feet together.”

This verbal abuse continued until a nearby RCMP officer ordered the sheriff to stop, the lawsuit states.

Fleming was then brought in front of a judge and released. The charges against her were eventually withdrawn.

Fleming is claiming unjustified arrest and detention, humiliation, mental abuse and loss of reputation.

Statements of claim contain allegations not proven in court.