PENTICTON, B.C. — A woman accused of attacking a Mountie in Osoyoos, B.C., claims she’s the one who was victimized as a result of their past dealings.
Fiona Munro, 34, is charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer following a traffic stop around 2 a.m. on Sept. 28, 2013. Her trial wrapped up Wednesday in provincial court in Penticton.
She testified she was pulled over by RCMP Const. Ian MacNeil after leaving a pub, and, due to previous run-ins with the officer and his former partner, Amit Goyal, asked for another Mountie to attend.
Munro admitted she referred to Goyal as MacNeil’s “bum buddy,” which she said sent MacNeil into a rage, after which he pulled her out of her car by her ankles and dragged her five metres to his cruiser.
She testified MacNeil pulled her up from the ground and threw her across the hood of his cruiser, then slammed her head into the car three times.
“The second time, I saw black,” Munro said.
“There wasn’t much that I could do. I was screaming and crying, and I couldn’t breathe.”
She said MacNeil then put a handcuff around her left wrist and shoved her into the back of his cruiser.
Photos entered into evidence and taken by a friend in hospital about 12 hours later appear to show bruising on Munro’s neck and face and around her eyes, and on her wrist and ankles.
She said she sustained a concussion and still occasionally suffers from headaches and nausea as a result.
Munro said she was angry with police after her earlier complaint against Goyal was dismissed, and that she tried twice unsuccessfully to bring a private prosecution against MacNeil in relation to the incident for which she is on trial.
She denied striking MacNeil during the arrest.
Crown lawyer Frank Caputo accused her of fabricating the story.
“This has been made up as a defence to walk away from these charges, correct?” Caputo asked.
“No, it has not,” Munro replied.
In July, MacNeil testified he asked Munro three times to get out of her car, but after she refused to do so, he pulled her out by her left arm and steered her to his cruiser.
The officer said he put Munro against the hood of his car while he attempted to handcuff her, then she struck his head with her right arm and kicked his shins.
MacNeil’s supervisor on the night in question also testified, and told court he didn’t notice any damage to Munro’s face when he arrived at the scene moments after her arrest.
In his closing argument, defence lawyer Michael Welsh suggested his client’s injuries support her testimony.
“In my submission, that lends some credibility to her evidence,” he said.
Caputo argued the two versions of events put forward by Munro and MacNeil are “irreconcilable."
“Ultimately, it’s for the court to weigh the evidence and determine whether the court, if necessary, does prefer any of the evidence."
Judge Roy Dickey reserved his decision until Dec. 23. (Penticton Herald)
