First Nations woman to sue police for breaking her shoulder

A woman from Mishkeegogamang First Nation in northwestern Ontario is suing the Ontario Provincial Police for $2 million in damages after her shoulder and ribs were broken during an arrest.

Bonnie Muckuck, 55,was found not guilty earlier this year ofassaulting police in a 2013altercation in Pickle Lake, Ont., in which she was injured.She was also found not guilty of assault on her partner, a complaint that led to her contact with police.

The judge in that case ruled that the injuries to Muckuck, whom he described as "frail and bird-like", were caused by police at the time of her arrest.

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A statement of claim was filed by lawyers forMuckuck inOntario SuperiorCourt in October.

It alleges the arresting officers"perjured themselves in order to incriminate [Muckuck]"; that they failed to conduct a competent investigationand that they did not have reasonable grounds for the arrest during which Muckuck was allegedly assaulted.

The claim was filed in Toronto, but in court documentsMuckuck is asking for the case to be heard in Thunder Bay.

The province's police watchdog conducted an investigation into the conduct of officers in this case. The Special Investigations Unit concluded in July 2014that no criminal charges are warranted against the officers involved.