MELFORT, Sask. — An RCMP officer broke a 38-year-old woman’s arm during a mental health apprehension, but the provincial police watchdog has cleared him of criminal wrongdoing.
The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) found reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed assault causing bodily. The Crown prosecutor, however, decided the case wasn’t strong enough to proceed and recommended no charges.
“When considering both the observable decrease in the affected person’s level of resistance, as evidenced by twice offering her hand, and the level of anger displayed by the subject officer through his words and demeanour, both the level of force and the motivation underlying the application of force appear to fall outside the legal protections provided to police, and accordingly, the completed investigation provides reasonable grounds to believe that an offence, assault causing bodily harm, has been committed,” said Greg Gudelot, civilian executive director of SIRT.
SIRT’s report concluded the force used to break the woman’s arm was “more consistent with that action having been applied for a punitive purpose, or as retribution for the earlier struggle.”
The incident
On July 2, 2025, the woman left Melfort Hospital against medical advice after being admitted earlier that day for mental health concerns. She was found in the parking lot wearing only a hospital gown.
Police received several calls, including two from the woman herself. In one call, she said she needed help and didn’t know where she was. The call was disconnected and when an operator called back, she could hear her crying before hanging up. Hospital staff told officers that she was required back for treatment. A male caller contacted police and said that he had taken an unknown woman to the hospital for a suspected overdose and that the woman had taken his wife’s phone and was currently in the parking lot.
An RCMP officer arrived at the hospital parking lot at about 4:32 p.m. After speaking with the woman and her cousin, the officer told her at 4:35 p.m. that she was being apprehended under the Mental Health Services Act.
The woman said she didn’t feel safe and didn’t want to return to the hospital. She then said she would return to the hospital voluntarily if she was allowed to call her sister first.
The officer said she could call her sister after she returned to the hospital, but she refused to go. When the officer reached for her, the woman pushed his hand away and tried to run. As she ran, she swung her arm backward and hit the officer’s head, knocking off his hat.
The officer tackled her to the ground and straddled her while she curled up on her side with her hands protecting her head. Body-worn camera footage captured the officer yelling angrily, saying things like “get on the [expletive] ground,” “give me your hands now, you dumb [expletive expletive],” and “why the [expletive] wouldn’t you just listen?” and “you just punched me in the face, are you [expletive] kidding me?”
The woman said “OK” several times and raised her hand, offering it to be handcuffed. Instead of cuffing her, the officer punched her in the head, then grabbed her right wrist, straightened her arm, and pulled it behind her back. He applied one handcuff, turned briefly towards an arriving backup vehicle, said “you’re not going back to the [expletive] hospital,” and pulled upward on her already-handcuffed arm with both hands until it audibly broke and became visibly displaced.
He then told the arriving officer, “I was trying to put the [expletive] handcuff on and I think she just broke something in her shoulder.” His demeanour softened and he tried to comfort the crying woman.
EMS was contacted. The woman was still reluctant to re-enter the hospital, but another patient in the parking lot eventually convinced her to walk into the hospital, entering the hospital at approximately 5:15 p.m.
Investigation and outcome
SIRT interviewed two officers, four civilian witnesses, including hospital staff, the woman’s cousin who took her to the hospital, and another patient who was in the parking lot during the incident, and the woman. They reviewed body-worn camera footage, in-car video, and hospital security footage that provided “comprehensive audio and video of the incident from several different angles.”
Medical records from three hospitals showed a spiral distal fracture of the right humeral shaft. On admission she tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamine.
SIRT has forwarded the matter to the RCMP and the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP with a recommendation that the officer face internal discipline under the RCMP Code of Conduct.
