Judge questions credibility of woman accused of assaulting a police officer

A judge reserved his decision in the trial of a woman accused of assaulting a Winnipeg police officer nearly two years ago, citing an "obvious issue with credibility" of the woman.

Lana Sinclair was on trial for allegedly assaulting and resisting a police officer on Halloween in 2014 when two officers responded to 911 calls reporting yelling and intoxicated people in her home.

On Monday, Provincial Court Judge Dale Harvey reserved his decision. A verdict is expected in one to two months.

Sinclair testified that she had been drinking at a downtown bar for a friend's birthday that day. She said she had four bottles of beer, then called her boyfriend to pick her up.

The two of them then picked up her son from an after-school program, then went home to prepare for trick-or-treating, she said. She admitted to yelling for everyone to hurry up when she heard a knock at the door. It was police and one officer came inside.

Sinclair said she invited Const. Atilla Luka to sit with her in the kitchen. As they were talking, a second officer, Const. Stephan Watts, came inside, told her son to take off his Batman costume, then sent Luka upstairs to check on the child, she said.

Sinclair testified Watts called her a "goof" and racial slurs, and also poked her in the shoulder. Sinclair said she got up and backed away. That is when she was hit by a baton on both of her forearms while trying to protect her face, she said, and started sobbing as she testified.

She said Watts threw her into the living room, cuffed her and swept her feet out from under her, causing her to land face first on the floor, sending her face first into her sewing table. She said she lost consciousness and her face swelled up with purple and yellow bruises.

"When I came to, he was yelling, 'She fell, she fell,'" Sinclair testified.

Sinclair said she was then taken to the hospital for an X-ray of her eye, which was swollen shut. Next, she was taken to a police station and read her rights, she said. No one took photos of her injuries, she testified.

Sinclair told the court her facial injury lasted for seven months.

Bruises 'caused by police'

Officers testified in May that Sinclair tried to head-butt them when they tried to handcuff her.

When Sinclair's lawyer, Kristin Jones, asked about the officers' testimony, Sinclair said, "I did not strike or head-butt him."

"The bruises were caused by police," Sinclair said from the witness box.

The two responding officers, Watts and Luka, gave their account during the first part of the trial in May. Sinclair's boyfriend, Michael Sumner Sr., also testified.

Both officers denied Sinclair's allegations, saying she was intoxicated and fighting with her boyfriend when they arrived.

They testified they were called to her home after two 911 calls reported intoxicated people at the home.

One officer said Sinclair was belligerently yelling at her boyfriend and eight-year-old son when they arrived. The officer testified that after he told Sinclair he was going to call Manitoba Child and Family Services, she blocked him from getting to her son.

The officer added that Sinclair, with one hand held by handcuffs, twisted back to grab for her sewing table, but slipped and hit her head on the floor. ​

Story has 'gotten bigger'

Crown attorney Patrice Miniely cross-examined Sinclair in the afternoon. Miniely based her questioning on a statement Sinclair gave to the Law Enforcement Review Agency (LERA) days after her run-in with police.

"Every time you have told this story it has gotten bigger and you have added details," Miniely said to Sinclair.

Miniely asked Sinclair why she had not reported being called racial slurs, being hit with baton and losing consciousness in her previous statement.

She also took issue with how much Sinclair said she had had to drink. Miniely pointed out that Sinclair told LERA she had "around six beers," but told the court Monday morning she consumed four.

Miniely referred to Sinclair's memory of the evening as being "patchy" because she "very intoxicated."

Sinclair said she was traumatized by the alleged assault and her memory of that night had come back in bits and pieces over time.