Woman says family still suffering after alleged assault involving Sault OPP

A woman who said she and members of her family were wrongfully arrested and assaulted by Sault Ste Marie OPP in 2014 said her family is still suffering from the incident today.

Sherry Cole, her father Daniel Knox and her brother Harrison Knox, are seeking $1.5 million in damages in the civil lawsuit. They are also looking for $250,000 for breaches of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as $250,000 for punitive damages.

It's related to an incident that happened on June 11, 2014. OPP were called after a traffic complaint involving a vehicle by Daniel Knox's company, Treeman & A Chainsaw. Part of the incident was caught on video.

All three family members and another employee were charged with various offences, including assault, resisting arrest and obstructing police. All charges were withdrawn later in 2014.

The officers named in the claim are Constable Luigi Bruni, Constable Mario Posteraro, Constable Peter Van Den Diepstraten, Constable Keith Nicolle and Sergeant Ken Spahr.

In court, Cole testified she was having lunch with her father, Daniel, when her brother Harrison called, asking for a tool to fix his work truck that had been hit. In a second call, she said Harrison told her there were two frantic women there. She and her father got the tools and headed to meet her brother.

Cole said she called OPP on the way, as she said she was concerned about her brother, the workers and the damaged vehicle.

She said she and her dad got to the parking lot where the work vehicles were and said OPP were already there. She said she got out and started taking pictures of the damaged truck when she heard someone yelling to get away from the vehicle and get on the ground.

Cole then said she saw Constable Nicolle try to grab her father's arm and also saw Constable Posteraro with a stun gun, or Taser. Her father, Daniel, testified he had opened the door to a cruiser where his son was inside when he arrived.

Cole said she tried to take a video of the incident on her phone but was unable to do so. She said her father was told he was under arrest and to get on the ground, which he didn't do. She said she told him to do so.

"They mean business here," she said. "I was very worried for my dad."

Cole said her father was then hit with the Taser by Constable Posteraro twice. She said she yelled and tried to push the officer away. She said she then went to get into her father's truck to go to the police station, when another officer kicked her truck door closed.

'Nothing I could do to help him'

Cole said she swore and yelled at the officer. She said three officers then grabbed her and dragged her over to a police cruiser. She said they threw her on the hood of the vehicle, face down, and was kneed in the backside. She said during this, she dropped her phone which was stepped on and damaged by police.

"It was awful," she said. "I felt very violated."

She also testified that the handcuffs were too tight, which left a cut on her wrist. Cole said she didn't not see a doctor afterwards.

She was charged with obstructing police and later charged with assault. Both charges were later dropped.

Cole said it's been difficult watching the impact on her father. Her father's wife, Leslie Knox, died in 2012. She said when the incident happened with police in 2014, her father was still grieving but starting to feel better.

She said after the incident with police, her dad stopped leaving the house.

"He's my dad. I want to be there for him as much as I could," she said. 

"By seeing him so unhappy and angry and there was nothing I could do to help him. That hurt me."