The video of a Chatham-Kent police booking, in which a Chatham woman is asked to remove her bra, will remain under wraps for now.
The video is connected with a court decision from July 14 where the woman in question faced impaired driving charges. Police say a female officer "verbally directed" the woman to remove the undergarment to avoid "self-harm or strangulation."
A Chatham-Kent judge rendered her decision on the incident in July, dismissing the charges against the woman. At that time, Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn said he was willing to show local media the video of the booking, which took place in March 2015, once the Crown's appeal period of 30 days was up.
While that appeal period is now over, the video is not being released publically at this time.
Speaking to BlackburnNews.com, Conn says the video could still be used as evidence in a civil lawsuit. While Conn says no litigation has materialized yet, a civil suit can be filed up to, and including March 7, 2017 (exactly two years after the date of the original booking). The video will stay private until that time.
Shortly after the court decision, the Chatham-Kent Police Service changed its policy so that removal of a bra will be done on a case-by-case basis -- it's no longer mandatory.
Conn says he won't be making any further comment.
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