ASIRT clears RCMP officers accused of using excessive force during Cowley, Alta., arrest

No offence was committed by officers in Cowley, Alta., arresting a woman who had recently become pregnant, the province’s police watchdog says.

According to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the officers’ actions were “proportionate, necessary and reasonable.”

ASIRT released the findings of its investigation on Wednesday, noting the woman wasn’t yet aware she was pregnant, and saying the officers couldn’t have known at the time either.

The incident happened on March 23, 2024.

Shortly before midnight, RCMP were called to a farmhouse in the southern Alberta village regarding “suspicious persons” and potentially a break-and-enter.

The woman was one of the three people Mounties found at the farmhouse.

Her grandmother and boyfriend were arrested without incident.

But when the woman failed to follow police directions, she was eventually grabbed by an officer and pulled down several steps to the floor and handcuffed with help from another officer.

She alleged, long after her arrest, that she suffered a miscarriage days later as a result of it.

Officers’ use of force

ASIRT was tasked with investigating the officers’ use of force on March 12, 2025.

Investigators interviewed the woman twice and reviewed her medical records with her consent.

They also interviewed her boyfriend and several officers, including the officers accused of using excessive force.

Police video and audio files were also reviewed.

The officers described to ASIRT a situation where the risk assessment was high due to not having been able to clear the farmhouse.

They also told ASIRT the woman’s behaviour added to that assessment.

“It was reasonable and necessary for (the first officer) to grab onto (the woman) and pull her down the few steps to the ground,” ASIRT said.

“The amount of force applied to (woman) by (the officers) throughout her arrest was minimal.

“No more force than necessary was used by either officer during their arrest of (the woman).”

The pregnancy

ASIRT says there were inconsistencies between the woman’s interviews and her medical records regarding the timeline of her pregnancy and its end.

According to ASIRT, while the woman’s original claim was she suffered a miscarriage days after her arrest, medical records show she still was pregnant weeks later.

She later revised her statements but maintained she believed the stress of the arrest contributed to her miscarriage.

“(The woman’s) medical records estimated that as of April 30, 2024, she was five weeks and six days pregnant,” ASIRT said.

“This would coincide with her becoming pregnant on a date three days prior to her interaction with police and would be consistent with (the woman’s) stated lack of knowledge that she was pregnant at the time.

“Likewise, officers would also have had no way of knowing she was pregnant at the time of her arrest.”

ASIRT noted the woman was given and filled a prescription for medication to end her pregnancy at the hospital.

According to the woman and her boyfriend, that medication was never taken.

ASIRT’s decision

The final report on ASIRT’s investigation of the incident clears all officers involved in the woman’s arrest of using excessive force against her.

“(The officers) were required or authorized by law to arrest (the woman) and acted reasonably in doing so,” ASIRT said.

“The use of force by (the officers) in effecting (the woman’s) arrest was proportionate, necessary, and reasonable.

“As a result, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed.”