Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Mar 15/99) - A 23-year-old Iqaluit man has levelled very serious allegations of abuse against a police officer.

Mathew Petooloosie, a lifelong resident of Nunavut's capital, said he was walking home from the Legion around 1 a.m. on March 2 when he was stopped by Const. Colin Allooloo and Cadet Joe Baines. Petooloosie, who admits to being intoxicated at the time, was staggering as he walked home and he said he believed that was the reason the officers stopped him.

Petooloosie said Allooloo proceeded to push him into the RCMP vehicle and take him to the detachment. He alleges the abuse started soon after arriving at the police station.

"I said hi to Joe Baines. I know this guy and I shook his hand. The other guy (Const. Allooloo) just grabbed me. He was grabbing my face, pushing me against the wall, being cruel," said Petooloosie.

He said that approximately 30 minutes later, after being booked into the cell, Allooloo began to kick him in the stomach area.

"I remember vomiting huge blood and going unconscious. From there I didn't wake up 'til the morning. There was blood everywhere, blood here and blood in the other section of the cell," said Petooloosie.

While he cannot recall exactly how many times he was kicked, another man, who was in the cell at the same time, said he witnessed Allooloo kick Petooloosie at least once.

"When he was about to get thrown in, he got kicked somewhere in the stomach area. I saw him (get kicked) only one time. It was outside the drunk tank," said Joavie Iqalukjuak, reached by telephone at his work.

Also a resident of Iqaluit, Iqalukjuak explained that he fell asleep after witnessing the kick, but awoke sometime later at Petooloosie's urging.

"He woke me up. He was vomiting blood. He couldn't talk to me," said Iqalukjuak, who was moved to a separate cell a short time later.

In the morning when Petooloosie woke up, he said he tried to urinate, but was unable to. He was then instructed by the police officer on duty to mop up his blood, which was still on the floor of the cell, before he was released from custody. Petooloosie maintained that at no time did any RCMP member or guard offer him any medical attention. The guard on duty, who may also have witnessed the alleged assault, offered to call Petooloosie a taxi.

"The guard asked me if I wanted to take a cab. For sure he saw what happened. I said it's all right, I'll walk. He looked kind of worried," said Petooloosie.

Upon arriving home, he was unable to eat or urinate and over the course of the day. His stomach continued to swell and cause him more pain.

Around 7:30 p.m., Petooloosie's brother told him to go to the hospital and after being examined in the emergency room, he was admitted for observation.

Hospital surgeon Dr. Katherine Canil became involved the next morning.

"Overnight he deteriorated and I was asked to see him. I recognized that he was ill and I took him immediately into the operating room. During surgery, I found a ruptured bladder and that leak was repaired," said Canil.

She explained that Petooloosie had not come to the hospital prior to March 2 with any previous bladder trouble and as far as she knew, he did not have a history of problems with his bladder. She also asserted that his injury was the direct result of some sort of trauma and not a natural event.

"That type of injury was not spontaneous. That type of injury is usually the result of trauma to the abdomen. We call that a traumatic bladder injury."

Canil said a catheter had to be inserted into Petooloosie to allow him to urinate, but it, and the 30 staples that were required to close him up after surgery, were removed on Thursday afternoon, just two days after he was released from the Baffin Regional Hospital. The pneumonia he contracted after his surgery has also improved.

"He's doing well. It's one week after surgery and he's coming along as expected," said Canil.

As of last Monday morning, lawyer Euan Mackay was representing Petooloosie as a client. In a letter directed to Const. Kevin Craig, the supervising officer the night of the incident, Mackay lodged a complaint against Allooloo with the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. Mackay and Petooloosie have also asked that an independent criminal investigation into the alleged assault be conducted.

"Once again, the RCMP should be held fully accountable. This is absolutely outrageous," said Mackay.

Mackay has also asked Craig to secure the videotape that monitors activity in the cells, in the event that any part of the alleged assault was recorded. Craig said that tape has since been secured but will not be viewed until the investigation begins.

"I have that in my possession," said Craig, who explained that no charges had been laid, and that the formal investigation would begin sometime today once the new detachment supervisor, S/Sgt. Jim MacDougall, started his job.

"It won't be looked into until Monday. We have a complaint saying that he was assaulted. No interviews have been done yet," said Craig.

Meanwhile, as Petooloosie slowly recovers and gets back to earning a living as a carver, he said he's waiting to see the outcome of the investigation. His allegation comes just days before the RCMP are expected to apologize to the Inuit of Nunavut for mistreatment that occurred in the past.