Officer Praised For Trying To Stop Teen From Jumping From Overpass

An RCMP officer will not face charges after a 13-year-old girl jumped from an overpass in Oromocto this spring.

The Department of Justice and Public Safety asked Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) to investigate the May incident.

SiRT completed its investigation in late July but the final report was only released on Monday.

According to investigators, the teen escaped from a supervised residence on the evening of May 9, 2022.

“The [teen] had three staff persons on duty 24/7 due to her being a flight and suicidal risk. She was also known to the local RCMP detachment due to her behavioral issues,” said the report.

A witness saw the teen run across Waasis Road and onto an overpass that crosses the Trans-Canada Highway into Oromocto West, where she then climbed onto the outer side of the railing.

Two officers soon arrived on the scene, including one who was well-known to the girl and had formed a positive relationship with her, according to the report.

As the officer approached the girl, investigators said she let go of the railing. The officer grabbed her wrist but could not hold on, and the girl fell 17 feet to the ground below.

“The area where the [teen] had been standing on the overpass was not over the actual travelled portion of the four-lane divided highway, but over where the sloped concrete slabs under the overpass meet a level grassy area near the shoulder of the highway,” said the report.

According to the report, the teen broke her right leg, right wrist, several ribs, and her jaw in the fall.

SiRT investigators said “no fault” lies at the hands of the officer in what actions he took that night trying to save the teen from serious injury or possible death.

A second officer on the scene noted in his statement to investigators that the officer’s efforts straightened out the teen’s fall and, instead of landing on her back, she would have landed on her feet when she hit the ground.

The officer’s actions “are to be commended in these circumstances and absolutely nothing criminal in nature occurred that night,” said the report.

You can view the report by clicking here.