The RCMP and its watchdog body are at odds over whether a Mountie was justified in Tasering a veteran with a medical implant — a conflict critics say points to flaws in the process meant to keep Mounties accountable.
After years of back-and-forth with the RCMP, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP has completed its investigation and is calling out what it sees as an unjustified, warrantless entry and premature use of a Taser.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has rejected those findings, arguing her members’ safety was at risk.
Bruce Webb, the man at the centre of the case, said that he doesn’t see the CRCC’s decision to side with him as a victory.
“Nothing is changing,” he told CBC.
His case dates back to early 2016 in Nova Scotia, when he and his partner were attempting to convert the Purple Leprechaun Roadhouse in Lunenburg County, N.S. into a lounge. Neighbours opposed the zoning application.
A copy of CRCC chairperson Michelaine Lahaie’s final report was released to CBC through an access to information request. Webb, formerly of Nova Scotia, confirmed that it’s his matter.
According to the CRCC report, Webb at one point placed a speaker outside the roadhouse and played loud music throughout the day, accumulating noise complaints.
The Mounties were called in and eventually disconnected the speaker and seized it.
That further aggravated Webb, a veteran of the armed forces, who then called 911 six times accusing the RCMP of stealing his property, says the report. He and his partner also had an apartment in the roadhouse building.
Webb told the 911 dispatcher he felt he had been “judged by a stormtrooper in police wardrobe.”
During another one of those calls, says the report, Webb asked if there was an emergency line veterans can call when in a state of panic.
Three RCMP officers were then deployed back to the Purple Leprechaun Roadhouse just before midnight on Feb. 28.
‘If you Tase me, I may die’
According to the report, the officers peered through a glass door and observed Webb pacing while on the phone, gesturing for them to go away.
The watchdog’s report says RCMP Const. Mark Thomaes pulled the restaurant door until the doorframe dislodged, then forced the door open.
The CRCC’s investigators reviewed video footage from inside the Purple Leprechaun from three different angles. CBC Nova Scotia conducted its own inquiries at the time of the incident and also obtained a copy of the surveillance footage.
The surveillance video shows Thomaes throwing Webb’s phone on the ground before grabbing Webb behind the neck and yelling for him to “get down on the ground.”
In the video, Webb is seen swiping back, hitting Thomaes in the head.
Webb then falls to the ground and recovers in a sitting position.
The CRCC report says that at that point, Thomaes drew his conducted energy weapon (CEW)— commonly referred to as a Taser — and pointed it at Webb’s chest.
Webb is heard on the video saying, “If you Tase me, I may die,” and telling the officers he has a medical implant.
Webb has told CBC News he has an implant in his abdomen that’s connected by electrodes to his spinal cord to relieve a chronic leg injury.
The video then shows constables Adam Chapman and Chad Burridge walking into the shot and attempting to handcuff Webb, who struggles against them.
The report says that a few seconds after that point, Thomaes asked his fellow officers to back away. Webb, wearing one handcuff, can be seen on the video trying to inch away from the officers.
The video then shows Thomaes deploying the Taser and Webb falling to his right side. Chapman and Burridge then move in and secure both handcuffs.
CRCC says Mounties’ entry was unjustified
The Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team, which is called in when someone is seriously injured or killed during police action, ruled that RCMP officers were justified in entering Webb’s home without a warrant and using force.
Lucki also has argued her officers were acting reasonably, were responding to someone in distress and were concerned about their own safety.
But the CRCC took an entirely different view.
For starters, the commission concluded the three officers unreasonably entered Webb’s home.
The three responding officers said they had grounds to arrest Webb under Nova Scotia’s Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act — but the CRCC concluded that the case warranted a wellness check “at best.”
“No reasonable rounds have been provided to suggest that [Webb] was suffering from a mental disorder,” says the watchdog report.
The CRCC also said the officers didn’t follow proper procedure.
The Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act requires that police be satisfied that the individual would not consent to a medical examination before entry. But the CRCC report points out that Webb expressly asked to be connected to a veteran’s assistance line.
The three Mounties also did not have Webb assessed by a physician for any mental health concerns — as required by the act — and initially planned to take him straight into custody, says the report.
As Lahaie points out in her final report, it was the paramedics who insisted Webb be transported to the hospital after getting hit in the chest by the electric current. Her report says he was never assessed for mental health concerns.
In a letter from Lucki to Lahaie, attached as part of the CRCC report, the top Mountie rejected the CRCC’s findings and argued the attending members had “duties to protect life and prevent serious injury.”
RCMP argues officer safety was at risk
Lucki and the CRCC also disagree over whether the use of a Taser was reasonable.
The CRCC ruled that Thomaes “did not attempt to de-escalate the situation before deploying the CEW.”
His use of a Taser “was premature and objectively unreasonable,” says the CRCC report.
The watchdog found that while Webb was non-compliant, the officer was yelling commands without explaining why police were there.
Lahaie wrote that Webb was seated on the floor and backing away, limiting his ability to harm the three RCMP officers.
She also said none of the officers attempted to use de-escalation techniques, as required by the RCMP’s own national policy.
Lucki argued Webb had struck Thomaes already and had a loose handcuff around his wrist. She argued it created an unpredictable situation and force was warranted.
“De-escalation is an important consideration but it must be balanced with officer safety,” Lucki wrote in her letter to Lahaie.
The CRCC report says that response “only scratches the surface and fails to take a more nuanced approach to the application of force and the reasons for it.”
Lahaie surmised that the responding officers likely were frustrated and irritated with Webb’s behaviour before their visit and had decided already to arrest him before they got to the scene.
As a Canadian citizen, [Webb] is afforded a number of rights, including the right not to be subjected to unreasonable force at the hands of the RCMP– CRCC report
In a radio communication reviewed by the CRCC, an unidentified Mountie is heard saying, “They’re going to make the decision, going to go into the house and arrest [Webb] under the involuntary mental health act.”
“The commission does not dispute that members of the RCMP may use force for reasons of officer safety in accordance with the IPTA [Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act],” says the CRCC report.
“However, it fails to understand how the level of force used by Constable Thomaes upon entry can be considered reasonable when Constable Thomaes’s only concern at that point in time should have been the physical and mental welfare of [Webb].”
The report goes on to say that Thomaes “was angry and upset, and that he aggressively subdued [Webb] in the quickest way possible.”
‘I was abused, mishandled, mistreated’
The CRCC report makes it clear that Webb was no angel. It calls his behaviour toward RCMP members, 911 emergency dispatchers and his own neighbours “objectionable and unnecessary.”
“Regardless, as a Canadian citizen, [Webb] is afforded a number of rights, including the right not to be subjected to unreasonable force at the hands of the RCMP,” says the report.
The CRCC report makes three recommendations, all redacted.
Lucki wrote to the CRCC that she doesn’t support the recommendations and won’t implement them.
Years after the initial incident, Webb said he’s still tormented by what happened that night.
“I was abused, mishandled, mistreated,” he said. “Middle of the night screams are a regular thing for me.”
Webb also said he experienced physical pain.
“After being attacked and zapped, my implant malfunctioned, sending me to months of over-the-top pain and a surgery to repair,” he said.
The watchdog has no binding powers on the RCMP, meaning Webb’s matter is at a standstill.
Lawyer points to gaps in the oversight system
Tom Engel, a criminal defence lawyer in Alberta who has made a career of challenging police misconduct, said the case points to a major flaw in the oversight system.
“This once again highlights the dire need for reform of the RCMP Act to prevent the commissioner and the RCMP from ignoring decisions of the civilian oversight body,” he said.
“RCMP officers who see their fellow officers commit criminal misconduct and then get away with it — that hurts the morale within the RCMP. It’s bad for the reputation of the RCMP.”
The Liberal government has introduced a bill that would amend the CRCC’s mandate to require the RCMP commissioner to respond to reports from the watchdog within six months — addressing a long-standing complaint of critics. The RCMP has been known to take months, even years, to respond to complaints.
Meghan McDermott, staff counsel with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, said the legislation is a step in the right direction but it needs amendments to a make a difference.
“Just the fact that the recommendations from the oversight body should be binding. I mean, that is just such a basic expectation and requirement that I think the average person in Canada would expect,” she said.
“We are deeply, deeply disappointed that we don’t think it goes far enough.”
McDermott and Engel said they hope Bill C-20 will get a rewrite as it makes its way through Parliament.
“When the state comes into your home, without a warrant and uses force against you, short of grievous bodily harm or death, it’s hard to think of a more intrusive and rights-denying abuse of power by the state,” said McDermott.
Lahaie did conclude in her report that the RCMP was justified in seizing the speakers from Webb’s property.
Criminal charges against Webb were dropped. He was fined $500 under provincial law for making false and frivolous calls to emergency services, says the CRCC report.
The CRCC reviews complaints about the conduct of RCMP members, ranging from excessive force to poor attitudes. It conducts reviews when complainants are not satisfied with the RCMP’s handling of their grievances. The chair can also launch independent investigations.
The RCMP did not respond to CBC’s request for comment.