Five years ago Sharon Rozen-Aspler's life changed for the worse.

She was a passenger in a car that was hit by an SQ cruiser, in a crash that was originally ruled an accident by Montreal police.

 

On Nov. 27, 2004 Rozen-Aspler was in a Honda at the intersection of Ferrier and Decarie going through a green light.

She and the driver heard sirens, but did not see the police car until it rammed them.

The impact was brutal.

"I had 12 fractures around my ribs," said Rozen-Aspler. "I fractured my pelvis on both sides, I fractured my sacrum and my right clavicle."

"About the third day basically I developed the acute respiratory distress syndrome."

Rozen-Aspler had to relearn some of the most basic tasks.

"I needed to learn how to sit , which was very painful at the beginning," said Rozen-Aspler. "Then I had to learn how to stand, I had to learn how to walk."

 

But while Rozen-Aspler was still in hospital, long before she even attempted physical therapy, Montreal police investigated the crash and closed the case, ruling it an accident.

Case ruled an accident

SQ officer Stephane Sasseville said he never saw the car he hit because his view was obstructed by signs.

 

Instead of accepting that decision, Rozen-Aspler challenged it, by filing a complaint with the Police Ethics Commission.

"They never asked the speed the officer was going," said Rozen-Aspler. "They never even covered the extent of the damages to the car."

Montreal police also failed to take pictures of the scene.

Ruling in victim's favour

Four years later, the Ethics Commission has ruled in Rozen-Aspler's favour, saying the investigation was "inadequate and incomplete," that Montreal police investigator Martin Couture failed to reconstruct the scene despite the serious injuries, and that the SQ officer did not drive with "prudence and judgement."

 

"I feel that they have to be held responsible," said Rozen-Aspler. "This was an opportunity to make sure they understood what they had done wrong."

The Police Ethics Commission wants SQ officer Sasseville to get a 35-day suspension without pay.

His lawyer is asking for 10 to 15 days.

The Commission would like to see Couture to be suspended for ten days without pay.

Couture's lawyer is requesting something other than a suspension, such as a reprimand.