Kitchener activist who became lawyer featured in documentary on wrongful arrests Davin Charney had been arrested many times, prompting him to study law
KITCHENER — Two people with ties to Waterloo Region take centre stage in a new documentary on TVO.
By Gordon Paul Record Reporter Friday, May 29, 2020
“The Arrest,” by journalist and filmmaker Martin Himel, looks at the emotional impact of wrongful arrests.
“Facing job loss and rejection of employment applications, social stigma, housing denial … their lives will never be the same,” TVO says in a news release.
Playing a key role in the documentary is Davin Charney, 48, a former social activist in Kitchener who became a lawyer after he was wrongfully arrested. He now represents people who allege they were wrongfully arrested.
In the years before he was called to bar in 2008, Charney was arrested multiple times by Waterloo Regional Police while leading protests against poverty and homelessness. He spent a dozen days in jail.
Charges he faced included obstructing police, assaulting police and criminal defamation for putting up posters alleging police brutality. He was never convicted. In one case, a judge ruled Charney was unlawfully arrested and detained.
After all of the arrests, “I thought, ‘Jeez, I could use a good lawyer,’” Charney said in an interview. “I thought, ‘I’m going to become that lawyer and I’m going to help people who faced a similar situation as me.’
“I will give very special thanks to Waterloo Regional Police. Without their (arrests), I likely would never have become a lawyer doing social justice work.”
Also featured in the documentary is Natasha Broomes. She was arrested after pulling into her driveway in Cambridge on the morning of July 29, 2017. The officer told her she fit the description of a person with a gun they were looking for and asked her to show her driver’s licence.
Broomes, 43, laughed it off and walked to her front step. She says the officer then assaulted her and arrested her. Part of the incident was caught on video.
The Office of the Independent Police Review Director ruled there is sufficient evidence to show that Broomes was unlawfully arrested and that she was discriminated against because she is black.
It turned out police had been looking for a man. In his statement to the independent review agency, the arresting officer said he had a “strong suspicion” that Broomes was involved in the gun call. The agency found there was no evidence to show that Broomes matched the description of the suspect.
She was charged under the Highway Traffic Act but the charges were later withdrawn.
Represented by Toronto-based Charney, Broomes is suing the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board and the arresting officer for $700,000. She alleges assault, battery, wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. Police deny the allegations.
Broomes, who now lives in Toronto, says she is still traumatized.
“It has impacted her ability to work,” Charney said, adding she is now afraid of the police.
“The Arrest” can be viewed online at tvo.org.
With files from Liz Monteiro, Record staffGordon Paul is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on crime for the Record. Reach him via email: [email protected]