The Independent Investigations Office has cleared two Prince George RCMP officers of criminal wrongdoing from an arrest in which a man's hip was broken - but raised concerns about behaviour of a guard in the detachment's cell block in the aftermath.
In a report issued Wednesday, the civilian-based police watchdog, said the man was arrested on May 11, 2019 but did not receive medical attention until the following morning.
Instead, he spent the night in cells "screaming in pain" and, unable to walk he was "kind of dragged" into the booking area the next morning where the injury was confirmed and an ambulance called, the IIO said in the report, signed by chief civilian director Ron MacDonald.
The IIO took no issue with the officers' actions at the time of the arrest.
The man was arrested for "public intoxication and obstruction, was carrying a number of dangerous home-made weapons and was aggressively non-compliant."
While the man suffered the injury when police took him to the ground, "it does not appear to have been conducted in an unorthodox manner or with an excessive force."
What happened in the aftermath was more troubling.
The IIO found the officers were not criminally responsible because the seriousness of the injury was not readily apparent.
But as for the guard, evidence suggests she was aware of the man's complaint of a broken leg but failed to report the matter to officers. Instead, she let him spend the night "on the floor, crying, shouting or screaming in obvious distress." The guard's attitude towards prisoners was "antagonistic and motivated by 'revenge' of some sort," the IIO added.
Indeed, the IIO found enough evidence to conclude the woman "may have committed a criminal offence" but because guards are employees of the City of Prince George and not officers as defined in the Police Act, the IIO said it does not have the authority to refer the matter to Crown counsel for consideration of charges.
The matter with respect to the guard was referred to the RCMP, the IIO noted, but has since been told their investigation has been completed and no criminal charge has been referred to Crown counsel.
"The City of Prince George does not publicly comment on personnel matters," city communications manager Julie Rogers said in a response to a request for comment.
