Woman says assault occurred in custody
Officer on leave in another location
BY JASON WARICK, SASKATCHEWAN NEWS NETWORK      JUNE 27, 2009

An RCMP officer has been removed from the northern town of Stony Rapids to "ease the tensions in the community" after he allegedly assaulted a woman in a holding cell earlier this month.

"There's an officer safety component. Stony Rapids/Black Lake is a very small community where everyone knows everyone else," said RCMP north district operations officer Randy McGinnis.

"The chance of the (officer) in question getting in contact with other family members who might feel the need to retaliate or to even the score is probably high, so we felt it would be best to move the member."

In an interview with The StarPhoenix from her Royal University Hospital bed Friday, Angeline MacDonald says she's not sure why she was even arrested by officer Kelly Brennan.

The married mother of four, who works as a care aide at the local hospital, has filed a lawsuit against Brennan and the RCMP, claiming more than $250,000 in damages. None of the allegations have been proven in court and the RCMP's investigation is not yet complete.

A long scar runs up the inside of MacDonald's discoloured left leg, which is outfitted with several pins and a large brace. MacDonald said doctors told her she may never walk again.

"And even if I do, I'll never be the same again," she said.

"Right now, I feel like he took everything from me."

Karen Hanson, a friend who was in the room visiting, said she was frustrated by the incident.

"Things have to change there. This has to stop," she said.

According to MacDonald, she was working on her home computer at about 1 a.m. on June 8 when Brennan entered her home and asked if she'd been drinking.

"I said yes, and he told me I'm under arrest. I said, 'For what?' He said something about a complaint," MacDonald said.

She was taken away in handcuffs. The two argued about the tightness of the cuffs as she was taken to the holding cells. As MacDonald was walking into the cell, with her back to the officer, she alleges she was kicked in the left leg and crumbled to the ground.

She was allegedly screaming and demanding medical attention for the next five hours.

"I couldn't use my leg. I had to lift myself up onto the toilet to pee," she said, motioning with her arms.

Paramedics arrived and took her to the local hospital. Within a few hours, she was airlifted to Royal University Hospital for a four-hour emergency operation.

She had pins placed in her leg to repair multiple breaks. She had skin grafted from her right leg to her left, a blood vessel transplant and multiple blood transfusions. MacDonald is expected to be hospitalized for at least a month. Her husband, who works in a northern uranium mine, has remained in the North to be close to the children, she said.

RCMP north district operations officer Randy McGinnis said the officer in question is on administrative leave in another location, and an RCMP officer from another community is investigating. That will be completed in the next week or two, and the file passed on to Saskatchewan Justice to determine if charges are warranted. If not, the RCMP will determine whether internal discipline is warranted, McGinnis said.

McGinnis said he's not aware of any delay in obtaining medical treatment for MacDonald. He said the relationship between RCMP and the leadership of the area is good, and pointed to several recent productive meetings in the community on justice issues.

"It's unfortunate that an incident like this occurred. It's never our intention to injure anyone. In this case, obviously the young lady was injured. We're looking into it," McGinnis said.

"The big thing is to be transparent and accountable. If there's something we've done wrong, it's going to be looked after."

jwarick@sp.canwest.com

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