Nova Scotia woman mocked by RCMP voice mail frustrated by delays
A Nova Scotia woman is frustrated about the amount of time it's taking to deal with complaints she lodged against the RCMP after several officers inadvertently left a voice mail message in which they could be heard cursing and making light of a domestic assault she had reported.
The officers were investigating a complaint of domestic abuse she'd made against her boyfriend at the time.
"So did she deserve to get hit?" one officer said on the recording before laughing.
Three Mountie were disciplined by the force. They received letters of reprimand and were ordered to undergo sensitivity training.
The woman, Cheryl, is dissatisfied with that result. She has complained to both the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The Canadian Human Rights Commission is waiting on a decision from the complaints commission before deciding whether to act.
CBC News has agreed not to use the woman's last name.
Cheryl's lawyer, Naiomi Metallic, said the Canadian Human Rights Commission shouldn't wait because it can bring a broader perspective to the issue.
"The commission has the ability to offer systemic remedies, meaning that they could say that everyone at the Oxford detachment would have the obligation to undergo sensitivity training and these sorts of issues," Metallic said.
Cheryl has left the rural home she shared with her former boyfriend. She said she didn't feel safe living in such a remote location. She's living in Springhill now, where RCMP just took over policing from a municipal force that was disbanded when the town was absorbed into Cumberland County.
She remains distrustful of the RCMP.
"I'd rather take my chances," she said. "If someone invaded my home I'd take my chances with the invader. I'd probably be better off than trying to deal with the RCMP."
RCMP declined to comment for this story. But in the past, officers have condemned the comments made on the phone recording.
Cheryl's ex-boyfriend, Marven Murray, was convicted of assault last week. He's to be sentenced in June.
