Charges against Rao dropped
Multiple charges against a Halifax woman who accused the police of racially profiling her, leading to her violent arrest at a store, were dropped Tuesday.
A sheriff approached Santina Rao just outside the entrance to the Halifax provincial courthouse to let her know that all charges against her, stemming from an incident at a Walmart in January, had been formally withdrawn.
“Now I don't have to feel like I have to constantly defend myself all the time and defend my actions, because now people are starting to see and understand that my actions that day were completely justified,” Rao said at a news conference outside the courthouse.
On Jan. 15, the 23-yearold woman was shopping with her two children at the Walmart on Mumford Road in Halifax when she was approached by Halifax Regional Police officers and accused of shoplifting.
Rao said when she questioned their actions, an officer said they could arrest her for disturbing the peace. An officer then grabbed her arm to try to detain her, Rao said, so she tried to push him off her and scratched his face before the other officers stepped in and put her on the floor to subdue her.
Rao, who suffered a black eye and broken wrist in the incident, was charged with assault causing bodily harm to a police officer, resisting arrest and causing a disturbance. She was never charged with shoplifting.
The Crown's decision to drop the charges was “made in accordance with our policy ... after a detailed and thorough analysis of all the information provided by police,” Public Prosecution Service spokeswoman Chris Hansen said in an emailed statement.
“There were specific concerns in this case with respect to realistic prospect of conviction. Even if it was possible to address those concerns, an assessment of the public interest factors resulted in the decision to halt the prosecution.”
Although Rao feels some relief from the charges being dropped, she said she still doesn’t feel entirely free of the situation.
“Complete freedom from this instance would be that the police involved would be held accountable and that Walmart would also be held accountable,” she said.
“My daughter, who will be four in November, still talks about what happened every day, so she deserves that justice.”
Gordon Allen, Rao’s lawyer, said Rao will be filing a five-page complaint, under the Police Act, against the Halifax Regional Police officers involved in her arrest.
“We think that’s important because the (Serious Incident Response Team) investigation, which has been completed ... will determine if the officers committed a crime, perhaps an assault or something along these lines and we await these results, but that’s not the be all and end all,” Allen said.
“It doesn’t get into such things as racial profiling, if there was bias (or) if the police should’ve dealt with a complaint by the store differently.”
In an issued statement, Halifax Regional Police Chief
Dan Kinsella said he was aware the Crown decided to not proceed with the charges against Rao and it was “important for due process to unfold.”
“I recognize that while it was important for the matter to be examined by the Crown, this is one aspect of the process,” Kinsella said. “The public expects HRP to apply an organizational lens and take a look at the various aspects of what took place.”
Kinsella said while the police force awaits the outcome of the SIRT investigation, he wanted to acknowledge the “hurt this incident has caused to all involved.”
“The trust between the public and a police service is crucial. We will let the process
continue to its conclusion and we will learn from this incident and improve as an organization,” he said, adding the force recognizes there is more work to be done and commits to do better.
Allen said they also plan to launch a civil action against the Halifax Regional Municipality, based on what happened to Rao, the humiliation she faced and her injuries, by Labour Day.
Walmart was served a letter about intended action, mandating that it preserve all evidence related to the incident, a few months ago.
“The hope is that this contributes to the process that is happening all over North America and in our own city about evaluating policing and how police can better deal with individuals in a type of policing that we can have in our society,” Allen said.
El Jones and Kate Macdonald read a statement on behalf of Troylena Dixon and her teenage son, who suffered multiple injuries, including a concussion, during his arrest outside the Bedford Place Mall in February, to raise awareness of others in a similar situation to Rao.
“I feel like it’s not even really like I am on the other side still ... because there’s still this wall for Black people and the Black Lives Matter movement,” Rao said.