Jun
2
2009
BC Police Complaint Commissioner Stan Lowe announced yesterday that a public hearing will be held on the unlawful detention and abuse of force by two Victoria police officers after they detained 15-year-old Willow Kinloch.
Kinloch was handcuffed and tethered by the ankles in a cell for four hours. Kinloch filed a police complaint, which cleared the officers of wrongdoing. In 2008, a BC Supreme Court jury awarded $60 000 to Kinloch. Ms. Kinloch was awarded costs in the suit as well.
Retired provincial court judge Allan Filmer will be the adjudicator at the public hearing and Victoria lawyer Brad Hickford has been appointed as commission counsel. Coinciding with the BCCLA complaint in January, 2008, the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner ordered an external investigation under the Police Act when the Victoria Police Department made public statements that appeared to bias the investigation. The investigation was conducted by Vancouver police, which ultimately cleared the Victoria Police Department of wrongdoing, stating that the allegations against the officers were “unsubstantiated” despite the video of the incident.
You can check out video of the incident, the BCCLA’s complaint and the article in the Vancouver Sun.