Military police busted down womans door, forced her out of bed at gunpoint

[Jarnhamar]

Woman says military police busted down her door, forced her out of bed at gunpoint, broke her hand

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/1013-military

The wife of a soldier at CFB Petawawa is suing military police for false arrest, wrongful imprisonment and assault after they busted down her door in the middle of the night and forced her out of bed at gunpoint, then pushed her face down on the floor only to break her hand by aggressively pulling her up by the handcuffs, according to a statement of claim.

It was April 8, 2016, around 2:16 a.m., and military police had been staking out Brittany Stratuik’s home for hours after they got a call that there were two dead bodies inside her home, that the back parking lot was rigged with bombs and that there were outlawed guns in the house. During the stakeout, military police enlisted the help of the Ontario Provincial Police, who dispatched a K-9 unit, according to the claim filed in Ontario Superior Court.

But there were no dead bodies. There were no bombs. And there were no outlawed guns.

Military police were advised by the OPP that the call was in fact a hoax, and that there had been similar swatting calls earlier at different locations across Ontario, but they busted down the door with a battering ram just the same, according to the court filings.

Though the OPP told the military police they had investigated and that the call was a prank, the base police stormed in with guns drawn, according to the claim that has yet to be tested in court. Stratuik was home alone and in bed. Her husband was out of town.

So the OPP told the MPs it was a fake call and they decide to bust the door down and go in hard anyways? On top of the threat of bombs? Smooth.
:facepalm:

 

[RedcapCrusader]

Remember, there's two sides to every story.

Having said that, I offer my compulsory "Ah shit, here we go."

 

[brihard]

Not sure what to make of this one yet. I do know from a fair bit of experience that news coverage of the police tends to leave a very great deal to be desired. Doesn't look good though, either. I will wait to hear what results from an inquiry before I make a judgment.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Not sure what to make of this one yet. I do know from a fair bit of experience that news coverage of the police tends to leave a very great deal to be desired. Doesn't look good though, either. I will wait to hear what results from an inquiry before I make a judgment.

I remember reading about it locally when it happened and people questioned why the MPs would storm a house with suspected IEDs/bombs.  It will be interesting to see the results of an inquiry and why they chose to ignore the OPP if that's accurate.
The whole concept of swatting is pretty scary,  I've read it's popular among online gamers to mess up each others games,  that's pretty screwed up thinking.

 

[Lightguns]

I remember reading about it locally when it happened and people questioned why the MPs would storm a house with suspected IEDs/bombs.  It will be interesting to see the results of an inquiry and why they chose to ignore the OPP if that's accurate.
The whole concept of swatting is pretty scary,  I've read it's popular among online gamers to mess up each others games,  that's pretty screwed up thinking.

Storming an IED den, I was thinking that.  SWATTing is messed up seems to happen a lot to gun owners and gamers.

 

[jollyjacktar]

At the very least, this incident will be thoroughly investigated and I have no doubt be dealt with by the Branch in a professional manner regardless of the outcome.

 

[mariomike]

"According to the $850,000 claim — plus undisclosed special damages..."

No mention of criminal charges.

No idea if she will get any cash from DND, or how much, but there's nothing new about suing the police ( and the emergency services ).

For example, Toronto paid out $200M between 2000 and 2013 to settle civil lawsuits, including some for car chases, false arrest, use of force, "actions of a police dog", etc...

There are still the G20 class-action lawsuits ahead , and Sammy, and, and...

"The Department of National Defence has not yet filed a statement of defence, but plans to."

I wonder how often DND gets sued?

"...there had been similar swatting calls earlier at different locations across Ontario..."

For anyone unfamiliar with the term.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting

 

[Remius]

I wonder how often DND gets sued?

A lot.

 

[Lightguns]

A lot of traffic stuff I hear as well.  It can be hell to get money out of DND for at-fault accident though, they drag their feet, even under court order.  Wife's been there, done that.  Hers had to be approved by 400 Captains, 2 Majors and the bottom floor cleaner at NDHQ which took over a year. 

 

[mariomike]

A lot.

I wonder if DND announces the results?

Reason I ask is that unlike police, doctors, lawyers and others, complaints against the Department I worked for were investigated internally and in secret.

The Department never announced the results, or what was done to fix the problem. 40 Alexander was the only exception I am aware of.

Never, NEVER admit the Department has done anything wrong.

Not to suggest that anyone did anything wrong in the Original Post, but botched calls can be expensive.

 

[Jarnhamar]

I wonder if the woman will attempt to go after whom ever made the false call to the police on top of going after the MPs.

From what I understand trying to get someones identifying information from an organization like the police or CAS if they've made a false allegation is very difficult because they fall under some kind of police informant act and those services are hesitant to help as it may scare away legitimate anonymous informants.

 

[mariomike]

I wonder if the woman will attempt to go after whom ever made the false call to the police on top of going after the MPs.

From what I understand trying to get someones identifying information from an organization like the police or CAS if they've made a false allegation is very difficult because they fall under some kind of police informant act and those services are hesitant to help as it may scare away legitimate anonymous informants.

I'm not a lawyer, but I would guess  if it was a malicious false alarm that the call originator would not be entitled to confidentiality. If charged and convicted, their names would likely be published in the paper. But, how many of these jokers get caught? Look at the number of false bomb threats.

Or how many kids pull false fire alarms. First Responders have died in accidents getting to malicious false alarms.

 

[Remius]

I wonder if DND announces the results?

No clue but here are various examples to just name a few:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/army-tent-trouble-procurement-bidding-1.3745234
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2012/04/17/19645421.html
http://csat.top-talk.net/t2747-forme-soldier-sues-dnd-over-universality-of-service
http://globalnews.ca/news/2984984/okanagan-indian-band-sues-canadian-government/
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/04/13/marcus-brauer-sues-military_n_5143125.html
http://iranto.ca/En/index.php/news/latest-news/147-university-of-ottawa-prof-sues-dnd-to-see-afghan-detainee-photos

This article from a few years ago breaks down some of the claims against DND.  I bet there is a source document somewhere that breaks it all down.
http://ipolitics.ca/2011/11/03/cost-of-settling-claims-against-the-federal-government-rises-30-per-cent/

I know where I work we are dealing with IP issues in regards to some contracts.

I'm sure there are plenty of smaller claims that will never make the news.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Any large organization is going to be sued on a regular basis, mostly on differences of interpretations of contractual obligations, damages caused by accidents and then the ones they really worry about.

 

[mariomike]

Any large organization is going to be sued on a regular basis, mostly on differences of interpretations of contractual obligations, damages caused by accidents and then the ones they really worry about.

I think this unproven / alleged complaint goes a bit beyond contractual obligations,

“assault, arrest and injuries suffered from embarrassment, humiliation, exhaustion, pain and stress due to the events.” Stratuik’s claim says she no longer feels safe in her own home and suffers from anxiety attacks.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

this falls under the heading "ones they really worry about"

 

[kratz]

Is this front page "Globe and Mail" news?

.....yes...I understand it's an old adage, but remains a valid one.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Is this front page "Globe and Mail" news?

.....yes...I understand it's an old adage, but remains a valid one.

Is that like a nothing to see here move along kinda thing?

 

[George Wallace]

Is this front page "Globe and Mail" news?

.....yes...I understand it's an old adage, but remains a valid one.

Well.....The event was in April 2016.....So, this is just a follow on article.