Lethbridge officers cleared by police watchdog after girl injured during mother’s arrest  

Two Lethbridge Police Service members acted appropriately in a 2019 when a 12-year-old girl suffered cuts to her chin and a cracked tooth, according to Alberta’s police watchdog.

In its decision released Friday, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) found the use of force by the officers was reasonable despite the “unfortunate and unintended consequence” of injuries to the preteen.

Police responded to a Lethbridge home in the early morning hours of Nov. 16, 2019 to reports that a resident of the downstairs unit had been screaming and smashing objects. A woman who lived downstairs was arrested.

After leaving the scene, officers determined that the initial complainant had provided a fake name and was wanted on outstanding charges.

A second call from a downstairs resident later claimed the woman who lived upstairs and made the complaint, had stolen an item and was damaging the building.

Officers returned to the home to arrest the wanted woman who was determined to be intoxicated.

In the ASIRT report, the girl said her mother was yelling and not cooperating as police wrestled with her for several minutes. The girl said she became concerned for the safety of her two-year-old brother who fell out of a nearby playpen when one of the officer’s toppled the playpen while using it to stand up after falling to the floor. An eight-month-old infant had also been in the playpen during the arrest attempt.

The girl, who in the ASIRT interview admitted that she “freaked out,” says she was hit in the face with an uppercut punch by the officer who was still kneeling.

One of the officers claimed the girl had attempted to intervene several times, including jumping on an officer’s back and punching him in the shoulder to get him off her mother. The officer said he was unsure if the girl was hit by the loose handcuffs that were being swung around while attempts were made to handcuff the mother.

The girl was later treated for two cuts to her chin, including one that required stitches, and suffered a chipped tooth that was later extracted.

In its decision, ASIRT said “there is no evidence to support any belief that (the officers) engaged in any unlawful or unreasonable conduct” and that the use of force to try and control the mother “was necessary and reasonable.”