Liability For Use Of Excessive Force By Law Enforcement Officers

A ruling by Justice François Huot of the Quebec Superior Court on September 4, 2013 offers a good summary of the principles that apply to the liability of a police department for the acts of its officers during an arrest.¹

The facts

After leaving work at the end of the day, the plaintiff was stopped by two officers from the defendant city's police department, allegedly for running a red light. Not understanding why she was being stopped, she got out of her car to ask what she had done wrong. Exhausted from her day at work, the plaintiff had a very negative reaction to the response she received from one of the officers, whose tone was very familiar. She considered that she was treated unfairly. She was agitated and motioning with her hands. That was when, without warning, the second officer, who was then a few metres from the plaintiff, moved toward her, grabbed her left arm with his two hands and twisted it into an armlock. The torsion applied by the officer made