Vancouver liable for woman’s jail treatment, but restraint device ‘justified’
VANCOUVER — When Bobbi O’Shea sued the City of Vancouver and four police constables for binding her feet together and tethering them under a jail door, she hoped her case would end the practice.
Instead, the mother of four fears nothing will change now that a judge has ruled the police were justified in using the restraint device.
“I know it’s going to happen again,” said O’Shea. “It’s too bad that there are going to be more individuals who are going to have to suffer what I suffered.”
But she said she was pleased there would be at least ”some awareness” of wrongdoing. The judge found the city liable for a breach in her standard of care and awarded her $9,000 in general damages in a decision released to the media Thursday.