Blind woman sues police alleging forcible removal from hospital

A blind woman who claims she was injured while being forcibly removed from her mother’s hospital room is suing the Edmonton Police Service and Alberta Health Services for $155,000.

Joanne Calhoun was visiting her mother Shirley Hamilton at the University of Alberta Hospital when the incident occurred on June 13, 2012, according to a recently filed statement of claim.

“Hamilton had asked that Calhoun visit her together with others for support,” the claim reads. “Hamilton wanted to be released from the University of Alberta Hospital and needed advice and assistance.”

During the visit, a nurse came into the room and told Calhoun she wasn’t welcome and needed to leave. Hospital security arrived and told Calhoun that if she identified herself by name, she “would be allowed to leave voluntarily.”

Calhoun gave security her name and left the room, the lawsuit states. At no time did Hamilton want her daughter removed from the room.

In the corridor outside the room, three police officers and two hospital employees stopped Calhoun. She claims she was taken to the ground “roughly” and handcuffed. Afterwards, she was pulled to her feet, placed in a wheelchair and removed from the hospital. Outside, police issued her a trespassing ticket and told her to leave the property.

“Their actions amounted to assault and battery,” Calhoun claims. At the time, Calhoun was legally blind, suffered from a heart condition and was in a generally frail condition. She claims the forced removal injured her neck, shoulders and back.

Statements of claim contain allegations not yet proven in court.