Racism at play in RCMP investigation into complaint of Black woman arrested unlawfully, says report

One October night on a downtown street in the small southeastern Alberta city of Brooks, RCMP officers were in the process of arresting a man for drunk driving when he pointed at his passenger.

He told police she should be arrested for prostitution because he'd just paid her $300 for sex.

Selling sex is not illegal. Buying sex is. 

That means the woman was not doing anything wrong but, by his own admission, the man was.

The passenger was Black. The man and the officers were all white. 

Officer swears at woman

RCMP Const. Robert Loder took the investigative advice of the allegedly intoxicated john. 

"You Black mother f–ker," the woman says Loder yelled at her as he removed her from the vehicle and brought her to the local Brooks detachment, where she was held overnight.

That initial interaction with RCMP and what came next is the subject of a report published last week that found racism in the public complaint process.

It also found that the woman, identified only as AB in the report, was the victim of, at the very least, the "appearance" of unequal treatment on the basis of her race.

The commission ultimately found AB's arrest was unlawful and said she should have been released during the traffic stop after officers were able to confirm her identity.

RCMP were asked for comment but did not respond.

'Complete hatred'

In a phone interview with CBC News, AB says that night was the most frightened she's ever been.

"I didn't know racism was a real thing. I just thought it was prejudice, fear of the unknown, so when they get to know me, it'll be OK," said AB.

"But this was different. This was actual hatred, complete hatred. They didn't even know me to hate me that much."

That incident on Oct. 8, 2015, led to AB being charged with obstruction of a peace officer for refusing to co-operate with the officers who were trying to arrest her for something that is not a crime in Canada. 

The charge stuck for just three months before a prosecutor took a look at the file and had it dropped in January 2016. 

Alleged drunk driver given ride home

AB says the officers ticketed the man who was charged with drunk driving and then drove him home.

Their treatment of her, which included dragging her though the window of the vehicle, was nothing but racism, she says.

"They wouldn't do that to another person who was a different colour. They proved that by driving the guy who was drunk home. And me who was the passenger, doing nothing, I got treated like that."

Just days after her unlawful arrest, AB made a public complaint to police.

'Grave' concerns over investigation into complaint

The investigation of that complaint was so problematic, the RCMP's Civilian Review and Complaints Commission looked into it and found "extremely concerning conduct." 

The commission's concerns were so "grave" that a chairperson-initiated investigation was then launched by Michelaine Lahaie, whose final report was published online last week.

In that report, Lahaie wrote that there was both an "appearance and existence of racism in the public complaint process."

"The complainant in this case experienced the appearance of inequitable treatment on the basis of her race," wrote Lahaie. 

Investigator ignored evidence

In October 2015, just days after her arrest and detention, AB filed a complaint with the Brooks RCMP.

AB's complaint was assigned to RCMP Sgt. Raimo Loo, an officer who worked in the Brooks detachment alongside the members he was tasked with investigating. 

The complaints commission reported findings that Loo "refused to obey directions from a superior," showed a "disregard and ignorance" of available evidence and was hostile toward AB's lawyer to the point of being "unreasonable and unprofessional."

It also found that he facilitated a mistranslated crucial statement that left out information that bolstered AB's complaint and added details that were supportive of RCMP officers.

As he began his investigation of AB's complaint, Loo wrote several emails to colleagues in which he made note that AB was Black, information that the commission found was not relevant to whether her arrest and detention were unlawful.

Loo repeatedly referred to AB as a Black 'call girl'

In an emailed summary of the incident to another member involved in the investigation, Loo wrote: "[The driver] claims he paid $300 for the services of a prostitute, the black female passenger in his car."

When preparing an officer to question AB, Loo emailed a list of proposed questions, including one asking how long she'd been a "call girl."

"Working as a "call girl" is not a crime in Canada," wrote Lahaie, who further found that Loo's interview plan for AB was "irrelevant" and suggested that he had predetermined the outcome of the complaint.

Loo also directed the officers who were under investigation to add to their statements based on the details in her claim.

Loder drafted a new report that "addressed each aspect of her public complaint allegations and struck a defensive tone," reads Lahaie's decision.

"This new report added different justifications for his arrest of A. B.," wrote Lahaie.

'An intentional disregard' for instructions

Loo was ordered removed from the investigation on Dec. 22, 2015, after AB's lawyer Tom Engel complained to the officer's superiors, who found the officer "presented a perception of bias."

But despite clear direction that he cease any involvement, Loo continued to investigate. He also authored monthly updates on the case, and corresponded with both AB and Engel.

"[Loo] demonstrated an intentional disregard for clear instructions," reads the commission's decision.

Loo's actions during his two months as AB's complaint investigator led the commission to make several findings of "the appearance of bias."

'No mere mistranslation'

The complaints commission also took issue with Loo's tone in emails between himself and AB's lawyer, finding that the investigator was hostile. It also found Loo communicated with AB directly despite repeated instruction to do so through her lawyer. 

Another damning area of Loo's flawed investigation involved the translation of a key witness statement from French to English.

Loo assigned another Brooks RCMP member to do the translation despite the fact that French was the officer's fifth language and he had no translation training.

A proper translation showed the English version was "not accurate" and, as an example, added a sentence to the English translation that did not appear in the French statement, describing AB as violent during her arrest.

"This is no mere mistranslation," wrote Lahaie. "An entire sentence that was potentially prejudicial to AB was added to the English version that was not contained in the original French statement."

Commission's recommendations

The complaints commission made several recommendations, some of which were adopted by RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki.

Loo has been removed from internal complaint investigations until he receives further training. 

The RCMP has updated its practices and policies related to conflict of interest and bias. It is also in the process of revising its National Public Complaints Guidebook.

Still, Lahaie expressed concerns that the RCMP should do more. 

"The commission continues to harbour concerns that these initiatives are general in nature and do not address the more specific concerns that the commission had raised with respect to the public complaint process."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.