A weeping Willow Kinloch hugged her mother in the courtroom moments after a jury returned a verdict yesterday that found Victoria Police Department officers violated the teen's rights when they restrained her in a padded police cell.
The jury at a B.C. Supreme Court civil trial awarded her $60,000 for the incident in May, 2005, when Ms. Kinloch, then 15, spent four hours in handcuffs and leg restraints, leashed to the door of the cell.
"I knew at the time it wasn't okay," said Ms. Kinloch, standing outside of the courthouse with her mother and her lawyer after the verdict. "I never really thought about the money. I'm really just happy that it's gotten out there and that everybody knows what's really happening and that it's not okay, and that hopefully it's not going to happen to anyone else."
The jury found the police officers violated Ms. Kinloch's Charter right to not be arbitrarily detained and subjected her to cruel and unusual punishment.
Ms. Kinloch, now 18 and still just about 100 pounds, had been arrested for being drunk. She ended up leashed and bound in the padded cell for four hours without being offered a glass of water or the use of a telephone.
The entire episode was captured on a police jail cell video, which was used extensively as evidence throughout the weeklong trial.
The surveillance video showed the tiny teen pacing the padded cell like a caged animal, kicking and punching at the walls. Then officers are seen entering the cell and placing Ms. Kinloch, who was not struggling, in restraints.
Ms. Kinloch named two Victoria police officials, two police headquarters jail officials and the City of Victoria in the lawsuit.
The two officers, constables Brian Asmussen and Ryan O'Neill, both testified they placed Ms. Kinloch in restraints as a result of an altercation with the jail matron. The officers said they believed it was the right thing to do for Ms. Kinloch's protection and the protection of others.
Police testified they tied Ms. Kinloch's feet and her hands behind her back and tethered her to the jail cell door after a struggle in which her shoe hit jail cell guard Merle Edmunds on the shin.
Ms. Kinloch's lawyer, Richard Neary, said the actions were cruel and breached Ms. Kinloch's constitutional rights. He said the video evidence shows the jury that she was not being overly aggressive and out of control.
Mr. Neary said the video evidence played an important role in the trial, providing Ms. Kinloch with proof of her night in police cells and showing the police officers engaging in activities they felt were part of their everyday duties.
Victoria police launched an internal investigation into the incident after the video was released by Ms. Kinloch's lawyer this year, but the acting police chief had said the teen was kept in the cell for her own protection.
Interim Victoria Police Chief Bill Naughton said the department will review the decision in detail, and the review will include an examination of guidelines on the use of restraints on members of the public.
He apologized to Ms. Kinloch and her family.