Legal win for former Kelowna 911 dispatcher suing RCMP for trauma

The province has failed in its attempt to dismiss a lawsuit from a Kelowna 911 dispatcher who is suing the RCMP over its handling of a traumatic call she took where an officer was shot.

In a July 18 BC Supreme Court decision, Justice Anita Chan rejected the province’s attempt to have Melanie Chatterton’s case thrown out, allowing the 911 operator to continue her legal action against the RCMP.

The case dates back to October 2019, when Chatterton was a 911 dispatcher for the Kootenay region and dealt with a call where an RCMP officer was shot and injured during an overnight standoff.

“The situation was ongoing and she took over dispatching duties with respect to the incident. (Chatterton) sat at her desk for 11 hours until the incident was resolved,” the decision said.

The decision said she found the incident very stressful and reported it to her immediate supervisor and they discussed her attending a scheduled debrief of the incident with RCMP officers.

“However, (Chatterton) did not receive any response from Tracy Arnold, the district manager of the Operational Call Centre, about her attendance at the debrief,” the decision said.

Chatterton was at the Kelowna detachment and spoke with Arnold, saying the incident was giving her nightmares and that she thought she would benefit from attending the debrief.

Chatterton alleged that Arnold told her the debrief was “not a social event” and that the RCMP members would be “uncomfortable” if she were there.

She said she was left with severe anxiety and panic and hadn’t worked since that day.

“She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder and as unfit to return to work at the RCMP,” the decision read. She was medically discharged in June 2021.

In her legal challenge, Chatterton alleged Arnold’s conduct was “belittling” and “humiliated and embarrassed” her.

She also claimed it did not follow RCMP policies about responding to psychologically traumatic incidents.

“It was a direct and foreseeable consequence of the negligent conduct of civilian member (Tracy Arnold) that (Chatterton) would sustain severe psychological and physical damages, and resultant loss and damage,” Chatterton claimed in her court filing.

The former dispatcher is taking legal action against the Minister of Public Safety and the Solicitor General of British Columbia, who argued to dismiss the suit.

The Ministry puts forward numerous legal arguments as to why the case should be dismissed.

However, Justice Chan rejected the government’s move and allowed Chatterton to continue her legal fight against the province.

The decision didn’t give details of the incident in which the officer was shot, but media reports say Harry Richardson was convicted of the shooting and found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.