B.C.’s police watchdog has cleared a Chilliwack RCMP officer of wrongdoing after a woman’s jaw was fractured during a 2024 arrest. The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. says RCMP were called to a Chilliwack bar parking lot in the early morning hours of Nov. 23, 2024, after reports that an intoxicated woman was attempting to drive. According to an IIO report issued Thursday, the woman had been in a physical altercation with a man in the parking lot, and staff had tried to get her into a taxi before she got behind the wheel of a parked Buick SUV. What happened when police arrived The IIO says about one minute after the 911 call, an RCMP vehicle entered the bar parking lot, stopped behind the Buick and activated its emergency lights. “The Buick moved forward very slightly but then stopped,” the report reads. The woman exited the SUV of her own accord after the first two responding officers—identified as witness officer one and subject officer—approached her vehicle on either side, right as another cruiser driven by a second witness officer arrived. According to the report, the woman tried to get back into the Buick a short time after exiting, saying she needed to get her phone, but was told by the first witness officer that she could not re-enter the vehicle. At that point, the officer “felt what she considered a punch to her cheek” and told the woman she was under arrest for assault. A struggle then ensued between the pair, according to the IIO. The second witness officer described the interaction as a “tussle” that moved from “like absolutely nothing” to “suddenly they’re fighting,” the report reads. The subject officer also got involved after the woman took hold of the first witness officer’s ponytail. Police dashcam video reviewed by the IIO appears to show the subject officer striking the woman’s face three times to try to control her on the ground. As she was handcuffed, the woman was “bleeding from injuries to her face” and “subsequently found to have suffered a fractured jaw requiring surgery,” according to the report. Why the officers were cleared of wrongdoing The IIO is called to investigate any police action, or inaction, that results in serious harm or death. In this case, investigators reviewed the statements of three civilian witnesses, two paramedics and the two witness officers, as well as police dashcam video, police records and medical evidence. The subject officer did not provide a statement, which is permitted under the Police Act, and the woman declined to be interviewed. The IIO concluded the responding officers “were acting in the lawful execution of their duty” in preventing an apparently intoxicated person from driving. “There was justification to arrest her for impaired care or control of a motor vehicle and assault, and the officers were authorized to use a degree of force that was reasonably necessary for the purpose,” the report reads. While acknowledging that blows to the head are a higher level of force “with a greater risk of injury,” the IIO found that, in these circumstances, the strikes and other tactics were not unnecessary or excessive. “I do not consider that there are reasonable grounds to believe than an officer may have committed an offence under any enactment and the matter will not be referred to Crown counsel for charges,” the report concludes.
