Neepawa man sues RCMP over injuries

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This article was published 13/03/2025 (189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — A Neepawa man who claims Mounties assaulted him during an apprehension under the Mental Health Act at his home and left him unable to work due to lasting injuries is suing for damages.

Lawyer Carl Burch filed a statement of claim on behalf of the man in the Brandon Court of King’s Bench earlier this month, naming as defendants the RCMP, the Attorney General of Canada and three officers involved in the alleged April 24, 2023 apprehension.

He’s seeking unspecified damages, interest and court costs, as well as an order restraining the defendants from making allegedly defamatory statements about him.

The RCMP have yet to file a statement of defence in response and spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre wouldn’t comment Wednesday.

The court filing says the man’s mother received a text message from him on April 22, 2023, threatening suicide.

The Winnipeg Free Press is not naming the man due to mental-health concerns.

The plaintiff’s mother went to the local RCMP detachment two days later and reported the suicide threat to a constable.

“She described the condition of the plaintiff having had recent back surgery recently and asked the constable to call on the plaintiff to do a wellness check, due to the plaintiff’s mental state,” the court filing claims.

“The officer advised (the mother) that the plaintiff would be taken into custody under the Mental Health Act and they would take him to the hospital.”

However, the man alleges the two officers who arrived at his home — including the constable his mother spoke with at the detachment — assaulted him.

He claims the officers woke him up early that morning by banging on the front door. He accuses one of the officers of running into his house when he opened the door and tackling him.

The court filing claims the officers failed to properly advise him in writing of where he was being taken, why he was being arrested and that he had a right to a lawyer, as required under mental-health legislation.

Further, the filing accuses the two constables of acting “as if the plaintiff had committed an offence and his mother had complained about it.”

“The constables arrested the plaintiff abruptly using unnecessary and undue force with severe violence,” the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit alleges one of the officers jumped on his back and placed his baton on his throat, with the officer’s knee on his back, to try to lift him, knocking him unconscious.

An RCMP sergeant arrived shortly after the alleged assault, the court filing claims.

The court documents allege the officers knew, or should have known, that the plaintiff was in pain and should have been taken to hospital by paramedics, given his recent back surgery.

He claims to have gone into paralysis and was unable to move, resulting in the officers “dragging” him to a cruiser car and taking him to a local hospital, where he had to use a wheelchair.

Further, the plaintiff claims he was not admitted to the hospital for his back pain, only seeing a mental-health worker before he was released and allowed to return home with the help of a handi-van driver. He was not charged.

The man claims to have required an additional back surgery in December 2023 and another surgery in January 2024, along with a lengthy stint in hospital, as a result.

He claims to have spinal cord damage, affecting his sensation in his now-weak right leg, among other lasting health issues, and has been unable to work as an auto mechanic since the arrest.

Further, the court filing accuses the officers of having spoken to members of the public in Neepawa about the incident, telling them the plaintiff threatened his mother, damaging his reputation.

» Winnipeg Free Press