A lawyer says she was left bloody and swollen after multiple Durham Regional police officers allegedly slammed her head on a desk without provocation, ripped off her head scarf and dragged her to the basement cells of the Oshawa courthouse last week.
According to a statement issued by her lawyer, Neha Chugh, defence lawyer Sudine Riley finished a trial late on Friday and was catching up on legal work in an interview room when uniformed officers “challenged her presence” in that room.
In her statement, Chugh said police, who were working as security, slammed Riley’s head on the desk and put their knees on her back and neck, and spoke to her with “rage, disrespect, and contempt.”
She said officers then forcibly “dragged” Riley from the room in handcuffs and took her to the basement cells of the courthouse.
“Her head scarf was ripped off, her skirt was raised when she was handled by officers, and her head was bleeding and her eye swollen from being slammed into the desk,” Chugh’s statement reads.
“She committed no offence other than being a Black woman practising law, being diligent about her commitment to the pursuit of justice.”
Chugh’s statement does not indicate how many officers were involved in the incident.
The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) has confirmed to CBC News that it has opened an investigation into an incident that took place shortly after 5 p.m. at the courthouse on Jan. 23.
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