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A Nanaimo RCMP officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in an arrest that resulted in a woman’s leg being broken.

The woman was “resistant and non-compliant” while being apprehended March 18 and was taken to the ground by the officer, says a report from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., which investigates police-related incidents that result in death or serious injury. She was later found to have a broken leg.

She told investigators that she had had a “difficult” conversation with staff on the morning of March 18 at the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society site where she lived. She said “things were escalating in my brain” after the talk.

A witness said the woman was in “a visibly upset state” and staff tried to calm her down, but she became verbally threatening and it was decided to call the RCMP’s non-emergency line.

A second witness said the woman was “voicing suicidal ideation.”

The officer who arrived first — not the one who took the woman to the ground — said she felt there were more than enough grounds for an apprehension under the Mental Health Act. Later, the woman told investigators she was fine talking to that officer but didn’t want to go to the hospital.

The woman left the building at one point and was sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette. When she saw a second officer arrive, she said she was scared for her life.

She ran around a police vehicle while the two officers gave chase in opposite directions.

The second witness described the woman as “quite combative” and said she was flailing her arms. An attempt was made to handcuff the woman. That’s when the second officer took her to the ground with one leg in front of her and his upper body behind her.

The same witness said that having seen many such incidents, this one looked to have been done appropriately.

The woman told investigators she already had leg pain and did not think she had been injured at first. She said she realized something was wrong when she stood up.

The officers said they would take her to a hospital and helped her into a police vehicle, where she started to hit her head against a panel.

The broken leg required an operation involving a plate and screws.

A complaint was made to the RCMP on May 2 and the IIO was informed on May 10.

The IIO report said the investigation needed to determine if the officer who took the woman to ground used unjustified, unnecessary or excessive force. In this case, officers had information that the woman was suffering from a mental disorder, was angry and threatening, and had been talking about suicide.

The report said the injury was unfortunate but there was no evidence of improper force.

“Indeed, based on the evidence of the civilian witness, it seems clear that the move to the ground was well within the bounds of what was reasonable in the circumstances.”

jwbell@timescolonist.com