Durham police cleared following allegations of a race-motivated violent assault on defence lawyer
Independent investigation found no grounds to criminally charge Durham police officers after legal organizations publicly alleged Black defence lawyer was victim of racist police abuse
An independent police investigation has cleared Durham Regional Police officers of criminal wrongdoing following allegations that they assaulted criminal defence lawyer Sudine Riley — described by media outlets as a “a Black woman who wears a headscarf” — because of her race and religion.
Durham Regional Police announced that York Regional Police completed an independent criminal investigation into the January 23 incident. The report concluded that there were “no reasonable grounds” to support criminal charges against any of the officers involved.
The announcement is the latest development in a case that received national attention after Riley’s lawyer publicly alleged she had been violently assaulted in a racist attack by police while working inside an interview room at the Oshawa courthouse.
