Motorcycle rider sues RCMP, 6 officers after 2023 collision with police vehicle

CBC

5 days ago

A man who was injured after his motorcycle collided with an RCMP vehicle is suing the RCMP and several officers claiming there was excessive use of force.
The collision happened in August 2023 when the plaintiff Daniel Leclair was driving his motorcycle on Highway 5 near Dauphin. Leclair made a U-turn on the highway after realizing he made a wrong turn, the lawsuit says.
It alleges a black sport utility vehicle "deliberately collided with the rear of the plaintiff's motorcycle at a high rate of speed," which threw the plaintiff from his motorcycle and made him realize immediately that he had broken ribs.
RCMP Cpl. Kevin Challoner was previously charged with assault causing bodily harm and dangerous operation of a vehicle as a result of the incident, following an investigation by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigates serious matters involving police in the province.
Challoner is scheduled to appear in court on the charges Nov. 5 in Dauphin.
The lawsuit alleges that after the collision, Challoner, who was driving the RCMP vehicle, struck Leclair repeatedly in the back with his knee and punched him in the face, damaging his left eye.
After the alleged assault, "Challoner caused a police dog under his control to attack the plaintiff for a number of minutes, during which time the dog bit the plaintiff's right forearm repeatedly," the court document says.
Despite Leclair repeatedly asking officers to call an ambulance, Challoner and five other RCMP officers "deliberately and willfully failed to promptly summon medical assistance", thereby putting Leclair's life in peril, the lawsuit alleges.
The statement of claim was filed in court Aug. 5 and names as defendants the RCMP, Challoner and five other RCMP officers at the scene.
The lawsuit alleges the other officers made no attempt to stop Challoner from assaulting Leclair, and that they ignored his repeated pleas for medical attention for over an hour while he "drifted in and out of consciousness."
Two more groups of RCMP members went to the scene but only the last group called emergency services, the claim says.
Ambulance access blocked, suit claims
When the ambulance arrived, the lawsuit alleges "that before anyone exited the ambulance one RCMP officer commented to other officers 'don't worry about it, he's dead'."
Leclair also alleges that a third group of RCMP officers at the scene tried to help him enter the ambulance "but were being impeded by members of the first group of RCMP officers," the court document says.
One of the ambulance attendants who was on a video call with a local person in authority directed his phone toward the impeding officers and told them "move away from that man, he is under our care [control] now," the lawsuit says.
It says the ambulance personnel and the doctor at the hospital in Dauphin where Leclair was taken told him "he was fortunate to be alive."
The attending physician in Dauphin told Leclair he should be transported to Winnipeg on an emergency basis because otherwise he "would be dead in two hours," the claim says.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and statements of defence have not yet been filed by the RCMP or the officers involved.
The lawsuit says Leclair was in hospital for three days in Winnipeg before he was released. He alleges his injuries caused ongoing pain so severe that for about a month, he was unable to sleep on his back and had to sleep upright on a chair.
The plaintiff "suffers ongoing pain, discomfort and sleep disruption" as well as constant fear and anxiety, and "a sense of impending doom, apprehensiveness, depression, and feelings of worthlessness" as a result of the RCMP members' actions.
The RCMP's "failure to protect the life, safety and well-being of the plaintiff demonstrates that the RCMP as a whole does not possess or enforce appropriate procedures to protect the lives, safety and well-being of those who come into the care and custody of its members," the lawsuit alleges.
It seeks an unspecified amount of damages for a list of items such as medical expenses, physical and psychological trauma, loss of opportunity to earn income, and punitive damages, among others.
The lawsuit alleges Challoner "intentionally tried to cause the death of the plaintiff by intentionally failing to promptly summon emergency services personnel."
The RCMP officers "used excessive force against the plaintiff who posed no threat to them as he was lying on the highway with broken ribs and unable to move as a result of Challoner deliberately crashing his vehicle into the motorcycle operated by the plaintiff," the lawsuit alleges.