In Defence of Offence

"Be it in good times or bad, in the police or any other type of paramilitary organization, there is a brother and sisterhood that exists."
Ottawa police Superintendent Mike Flanagan

"After 15 days of evidence at trial, Justice Lipson concluded that the Ottawa cellblock is often a dangerous and volatile environment in which to work, and it was precisely in that context that Sgt. Desjourdy was called upon to deal with a female prisoner's conduct and actions. We were confident that after a thorough and comprehensive review of the evidence, that a true and just verdict would occur, and that is precisely what took place today."
Vince Clifford, defence attorney

"Anyone who viewed the video would have seen that was an example of egregious sexual assault. It's a shock. It shocks the conscience. What they did was target her and abuse their power and abuse their authority."
Saron Gebresellassi, University of Ottawa student law association member

"Undoubtedly there are members of the community who have formed strong views about this case based on what they've heard, read or seen in the media or elsewhere. I wish to be clear that the verdict in this trial must be and is based solely on the court's assessment of the evidence and submissions of counsel heard in the courtroom and on nothing else."
Ontario Justice Tim Lipson

Canada's capital city is basically comprised mostly of law-abiding citizens. There are, however, areas of the city where it is prudent not to be female, alone and intoxicated at night. The Byward Market area and its environs is a hive of activity during the daylight hours. At night there are bars that attract young hormone-charged, and sometimes fractious-minded people, as well as those who represent the sociopaths that lurk within any society.

In that general area there have been stabbings, and guns shot off at people, fistfights and gang activities, and certainly ladies of the demi-monde atmosphere make their way around familiar streets where cars are wont to cruise vetting the action for the night. Drivers of those vehicles range from renowned heart surgeons to cafe owners, high-school youth to staid family men with their families safe and sound at home.

There have been some dreadfully gruesome murders of young woman in the downtown area, their mangled bodies found disposed of by their murderers like garbage. Women known to be drug-addicted and habitues of the street, marketing their bodies to any who can pay their price, enabling them to support their drug habit. Most of those crimes have not yet been solved. Not that long ago women were warned there might be a serial murderer involved.

A young women in her 20s was seen wandering about several years ago by two police officers sitting in their cruiser; she was seen approaching a car, weaving her way along the street, bottle in hand, and obviously under the influence of alcohol. She was questioned by the police, and that done, it was suggested that she could move on. She did that, then returned to aggressively demand of  her interlocutors: why had they seen fit to stop and question her?

Her manner grated on them, and they proceeded to arrest her for drinking in public. That arrest was later deemed to be unlawful, though to the law-uninitiated it would seem reasonable to apprehend someone under those circumstances; public drunkenness, drinking in public, (an offence under the law); a vulnerable young woman exposing herself to potential harm. Had her lifeless body been found the next day there would be demands by the public to know why the police, having noticed her condition, did nothing.

When she was taken to the cellblock the normal routine of a strip-search ensued, with a female constable doing the honours. Special Const.Melanie Morris found herself coping with a belligerent, violent, very uncooperative prisoner. In her attempt to perform the duty expected of her she was met with profanities and "crude sexual epithets", and her attempts were further complicated when the female prisoner slipped one of her hands out of a handcuff.

Special Const. Morris was mule-kicked several times and sustained a painful injury after her physical probes led to her hand slipping into the woman's pants as a result of the struggle. With her in the jail cell were other, male constables. In view of the problems they were experiencing they called upon Police Sergeant Steven Desjourdy who was in charge of the cellblock. He quickly ended the fracas by pinning the woman's legs under a shield, and proceeded to scissor the prisoner's shirt and bra from the back to allow the search to be concluded.

Sgt. Steven Desjourdy was found not guilty Wednesday of sexual assault. Desjourdy was charged over his decision to cut the shirt and bra off a female prisoner in the Ottawa police cellblock in September 2008.    Photograph by: Mike Carroccetto, The Ottawa Citizen

It was noted that the male constables endeavoured to ensure that the woman's clothing still covered her. Although the woman did not testify about what had occurred to her at the time, her written testimony described her feelings of having felt "sexually violated", having to stand partially nude before male officers. If she was aware enough that she felt physically violated she must have been aware of her inebriated condition as well, both before her arrest and following it.

If dignity is important to the woman she certainly made short shrift of it in her public display of drunkenness. In light of her entire behaviour throughout the incident she obviously tried the patience of officers of the law beyond their human ability to absorb it. There is a point at which neutrality is pushed too hard into a corner and the result of that is unconcern over the quality of care taken in dealing with a violently recalcitrant individual.

Had the police officers present simply thrown up their hands in exasperation, deciding not to search the woman for possession of some item that might later prove to have been used in a suicide attempt, for example, the public would have been just as outraged, and the constables concerned would additionally have been guilty of not following through on their professional obligations. She may not have appeared as though there might be a risk of suicide, but those succumbing to such urges do not generally advertise them.

The acquittal of Sgt. Desjourdy seems appropriate under those circumstances; he performed his duty as he was meant to do, meeting contingencies that made the situation while not entirely unusual, yet problematical. All the police officers involved had their knuckles rapped by Justice Lipson: "I am driven to conclude that (the woman) was either the victim of unacceptable indifference on the part of the cellblock officers or, worse, was being punished for her earlier assault on Special Const. Morris", for neglecting to offer her clean clothing for a four-hour period.

The unnamed woman will have her own day in court through civil action. She has filed a $1.2-million lawsuit against Ottawa police.  She will have a basis for her lawsuit in the opinion of two justices both of whom felt her arrest to be both unnecessary and unlawful. Whether a civil court judge will find differently than Justice Lipson in the matter of sexual assault on which the lawsuit may be based is another matter entirely.