Police left this survivor feeling blamed, broken. Now they're engaging with her again, and she's worried

Police left this survivor feeling blamed, broken. Now they're engaging with her again, and she's worried

During mediation in 2023, Ottawa police asked Keara Dean to sign withdrawal of complaint she hadn't written

Survivor recalls 'revictimization' during mediation with Ottawa police

A woman who took part in mediation with the Ottawa Police Service in 2023 after struggling to report an historical sexual assault says the process left her feeling broken down and blamed, then placated and cast aside.

Keara Dean also says the reponse from police leaders after she called out the force at a public meeting in June has reinforced her belief that they're more interested in defending themselves and the institution than acknowledging mistakes, learning from them and repairing harm.

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"The revictimization was beyond what I could have ever thought to have prepared for, and I work as a social worker and I've worked in this field," Dean said in an interview.

Recently Ottawa police asked Dean for the second time whether they can use her negative experience to help employees treat trauma survivors with more sensitivity. But Dean said she's worried that, like the first time police asked, it will not go well.

Dean's initial frustrations with the force began in November 2022, when she tried to assist with an investigation into a man charged that fall with sexually assaulting two women, murdering one of them and attempting to murder the other.

The alleged offences occurred in 2000 in Quebec City and Jonquière, Que.

Investigators announced there could be more victims. Some details reminded Dean, who lives in Ottawa, of a violent sexual assault she says she endured in Quebec City in the mid-1990s.

Dean called the tip line and said she was passed between police services in Quebec and Ottawa before being directed to report in person to police in Gatineau, Que.

By then, Dean said, she was angry and afraid to proceed, and she told the media about the mishandling of her calls.

Ottawa police offered Dean mediation in spring 2023, and she said she was escorted into a locked room with two civilian employees of the reporting line and an officer from the professional standards section.

She had not been told she could bring a supporter or lawyer, and Dean said facing the members alone was her first indication that the process would not be trauma-informed.

During the session, Dean said, she was told that Ottawa police had given her the wrong information in 2022 "'because you didn't actually say on the reporting line that you were calling about historical sexual violence.'"

Dean said she felt blamed and attacked, and hit by a "flood of emotion" and shock.

She was certain she had used the words "historical sexual violence," she said, and remembered rehearsing them before picking up the phone.

"I was breaking down and crying," Dean said, and she couldn't stop crying after she left the room to use the washroom and returned.

Dean said the two civilian employees left the room, leaving her with the professional standards officer.

The officer slid a piece of paper across the table and asked her to sign it, Dean said.

It was a form withdrawing the complaint Dean had made about Ottawa police to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, now the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency.

The form had been filled out on her behalf in the first person, as though she had written the responses herself.

"I was, at this point, flabbergasted. I had not stopped crying. I was in no state or frame of mind to sign anything. I couldn't even think of driving my vehicle," Dean said.

She told the officer that asking her to sign the form was unethical, unprofessional and appalling, she recalled.

Dean refused to sign it, kept the document and provided a copy to CBC.

In an emailed statement, Ottawa police declined to answer questions about its mediation process in 2023, how mediation works today, whether it lived up to its own expectations and standards in preparing Dean for mediation, how the force prepares people now, whether the force regularly fills out withdrawal of complaint forms on behalf of people, and whether that's allowed or not.

The force said it "recognizes that Ms. Dean's experience, both when she initially contacted police in 2022 and during the subsequent public complaint process, caused her further distress."

Did say 'historical sexual violence'

A few months after the mediation, in summer 2023, Dean said another professional standards officer called her after listening to her initial call to the Ottawa police reporting line.

Dean said the officer confirmed she had used the words "historical sexual violence."

In September 2023, Dean received a formal letter of apology from Ottawa police, saying "the call taker and supervisor did not make sufficient inquiries of you or seek clarification on the information you provided to arrive at the correct response."

The apology letter ended the complaint process.

Dean said she later learned she could have filed a human rights complaint, but by then she had missed the deadline by one month.

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Ottawa police declined to explain why Dean was told during mediation that she had not mentioned historical sexual violence.

The force said "a person reporting sexual violence should not be required to use specific terminology before their disclosure is recognized, properly assessed and responded to with care."

Years later, Dean was among several residents who spoke about police misconduct at an Ottawa Police Service Board meeting this past June. She said she felt compelled to tell the board publicly that police didn't treat her with care, and that she believes the force continues to have difficulty responding appropriately to people reporting trauma.

After Dean finished her delegation, police Chief Eric Stubbs asked whether she would be willing to talk to employees about her experience to help educate them.

Dean said the force had made a similar request after mediation in 2023 but did not follow up, despite her contacting them twice.

"I felt like that was a ploy in mediation to make me feel better. So if you're actually, genuinely asking me to do something, I hope this time you're actually asking me and not … being performative, because last time it was crushing," Dean told Stubbs.

'Delegate was speaking about November 2022'

Ottawa police said in its emailed statement Thursday that Dean "should have received clearer communication" after the force offered her an opportunity to help train its members.

The force said it was reviewing why the followup did not happen and "what opportunities may remain to learn from her experience."

Later during the June police board meeting, board vice-chair and city Coun. Marty Carr asked what the force was doing to improve how it works with people who have experienced trauma.

"I did note that the delegate was speaking about November 2022. I would say that since then we have made some strides," Deputy Chief Patricia Ferguson replied.

"I think training is crucial in this — hearing from victims themselves, first-hand stories about how the impact of the treatment that they received from our members is very significant. And we do that every time we have the opportunity to, so that we can give that feedback to our officers."

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Dean said Ferguson was wrong to characterize the force's handling of her case as an issue limited to November 2022.

She said the lack of a trauma-informed approach continued during the mediation in spring 2023 and after the apology that fall, when police did not respond to her followups about helping with training and later told her all available spots had been filled.

Dean said Ferguson's comments left her feeling "dismissed."

She also said they reinforced her concerns about whether the police force was capable of meaningful change and whether it intended to follow through on its latest request for her help.

Ottawa police said Ferguson's response to Carr's question was "not intended to minimize Ms. Dean's experience."

"We recognize, however, that the comments did not land that way for Ms. Dean and may have left her feeling that her experience was being dismissed. The changes made since 2022 do not erase what occurred or lessen the need for [Ottawa police] to continue listening, learning, and improving how it supports victims of sexual violence."

CBC Ottawa senior writer Kristy Nease has covered news in the capital for 17 years and previously worked at the Ottawa Citizen. Her current focus is investigative and enterprise reporting on the courts, judicial affairs and justice participants for all platforms. Get in touch: kristy.nease@cbc.ca, or 613-288-6435. Worried about your security? Find her on Signal — kristyneasecbc.613 — and send a message.