Women say they’ve lost trust in police

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. • With a growing number of sexual assault allegations surfacing against officers with Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial police force, women in St. John’s, N.L., are calling for cuts to police budgets and questioning who will protect them.

Lynn Moore, a lawyer who works with victims of sexual assault in St. John’s, says 15 women have now approached her with allegations about nine Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers. Eight of the officers identified have since retired and one remains on the force, she said in an email last week.

The underlying allegation, Moore has said, is that on-duty officers would scout downtown St. John’s in their cruisers, offering women rides home. On July 21, Supt. Tom Warren of the RNC told a news conference the force was looking into sexual assault allegations against four officers. The news came less than three months after RNC Const. Carl Douglas Snelgrove was convicted of raping a young woman in her living room in 2014 after offering her a ride home from a downtown nightclub.

Moore has said the women who have contacted her are not interested, so far, in taking their claims to police.

The situation has women downtown on edge and questioning whether police have a role to play in keeping women and marginalized people safe in the city.

Ursula Dumaresque said when she heard about the allegations last month, “I felt absolutely terrified and betrayed and angry.” She works in a downtown bar and walks home late at night from work. When asked in a recent interview if she would ever approach an officer in his cruiser late at night for help, she said no: “I would not feel safe whatsoever.”

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has about 400 officers who serve the eastern Avalon region, which includes St. John’s, as well as the Corner Brook area in western Newfoundland and the western part of Labrador. The RCMP police the rest of the province.

It’s not uncommon to see police cruisers among the cabs, or parked along St. John’s downtown streets, Dumaresque said, though she notes there have been fewer since the Snelgrove verdict in May. The latest allegations show it’s time to listen to women and marginalized communities who have been speaking up about the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and to put more money into community groups working to keep people safe downtown, she said.

Musician Kelly Mcmichael regularly walks home late at night after downtown gigs and said she agrees with Dumaresque. “Defund the police,” she said in a recent interview. Referring to the most recent allegations against officers, she said, “If they can do that, then the system is clearly not working.”