Police negligence alleged

A woman is suing the City of Kamloops and B.C.’s Ministry of Public Safety, alleging she was scooped up and taken to jail by police officers who failed to recognize she was seriously injured — which worsened her condition.

Sandra Bertrand’s notice of civil claim was filed last week in B.C. Supreme Court. In it, she claims to have been taken to jail after being found “in an altered state” on a busy roadway in downtown Kamloops.

According to the claim, two or three Kamloops Mounties found Bertrand on the ground on the travel portion of Victoria Street on Oct. 29, 2022.

The claim alleges the officers took her “without considering the plaintiff’s altered consciousness or ascertaining her injuries, offering or providing her with medical assistance and without determining if their actions were causing, aggravating or worsening the same.”

In the claim, Bertrand alleges she was driven to the Kamloops RCMP’s detachment on Battle Street, where another officer placed her in a wheelchair and rolled her to a cell, where she was laid on her side on the floor.

“The plaintiff was left lying in the cell for a further 10 hours, of noticeable impaired consciousness and intermittently calling out in pain and asking for help and an ambulance,” the claim alleges.

According to the claim, no one tried to help Bertrand until 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2022, when a female constable entered the cell, gave her a blanket and called an ambulance.

The claim states Bertrand spent more than a month hospitalized, suffering a list of significant injuries — a crushed leg with a broken knee, a dislocated right shoulder and a contusion on the back of her head.

“As a consequence of her injuries, the plaintiff underwent three surgeries and had permanent stabilizing hardware placed in her right knee and leg,” the claim reads.

“She remained in hospital for five weeks and suffered an additional five weeks at home in a wheelchair unable to weight bear. She still cannot bend her knee and has a permanent limp.”

The claim states Bertrand does not know how the injuries initially occurred, but she alleges the “neglect” she suffered at the hands of police and city staff caused “prolonged aggravation.”

No dollar amount is set out, but Bertrand’s claim states she’s been left with extra bills due to her injuries and a diminished earning capacity. She is seeking damages, punitive damages and costs.

Once they have been served, the city and the ministry will have three weeks to file a response.

None of the allegations in Bertrand’s claim have been proven in court.