‘Her hair was torn out’: Mom waits two months for arrest after young daughter assaulted in Dartmouth pool

Tamara Brown was excited.

There was a break in her daughter’s case. Or so she thought. 

Nearly two months had gone by since her nine-year-old daughter had been assaulted in a hotel pool in Dartmouth. The police had seemingly tracked down the person responsible in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Brown got the news in a text from the Halifax Regional Police lead investigator in the case.  

“The woman had been found and looked like she was arrested,” said the officer. The officer said she was unable to confirm but would do so later that day when she had a chance to speak with the cop who made the arrest.

Confirmation didn’t come. Three days later, she texted Brown again letting her know that there was no arrest and that the officer had been tied up on calls. 

That was last week. There’s been no arrest, but the investigator said in a text Thursday that police in Newfoundland had been in touch with the woman and were arranging to have her come into the station.

“This just keeps going on and on and on,” said Brown. “Something doesn’t seem right. It seems like my daughter’s case is not important to them.”

Birthday party incident

All the evidence has been gathered to lay a charge of assault causing bodily harm, according to the lead investigator. The officer said so among the dozens of texts she sent to Brown and which SaltWire obtained. Her daughter Amarah was assaulted the night of Oct. 7 at a swimming pool at the Delta Hotel in Burnside.  

She was with a group of kids attending a birthday party. Amarah went down the pool slide and collided with another child. The child’s mother grabbed Amarah by the hair and yanked her out of the water. Three people who witnessed the assault have spoken with police, said Brown.

Since the assault, Amarah has been to the IWK twice for injuries to her skull. The first time was a few days after the assault. Amarah complained of a headache and was throwing up. 

“Her hair was torn out,” said Brown. “She was in lot of pain.” 

She was diagnosed with trauma-induced migraine and prescribed medication. Patches of her hair had been pulled out her head, said her mom.

Suspect left hotel

Brown wasn’t at the hotel during the night of the assault. She showed up there the morning after. She said she called the police and by the time officers showed up she had found witnesses to speak with them.

But the woman who assaulted her daughter had left the hotel in the hours after the incident. Police have yet to interview her, says Brown.

That meant the officer in charge of the case needed to get Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to do the arrest. The lead investigator sent a package containing all of the evidence to police there. The officer texted Brown to say that the package was sent by Purolator on Nov. 9 and took six days to arrive in Newfoundland. Two weeks after it was sent, an officer from RNC’s child abuse division emailed the investigator to say the evidence was being reviewed. 

Brown says she’s been given the runaround since.  

Adam Rodgers, a Nova Scotia lawyer experienced in criminal law, says that the woman should have been charged by now. Executing the arrest should be straightforward, he said. HRP would simply request RNC to get an arrest warrant. That warrant should be issued in Newfoundland provincial court quickly.

However, the lead investigator in Halifax told Brown that she did not initiate a warrant.  Regardless, the woman wouldn’t necessarily have to be arrested to be charged. An officer could simply have an RNC officer deliver an appearance notice to the woman. The notice would include what she’s charged with and when to appear in court. 

“I think it’s a Newfoundland officer who doesn’t want to do what they perceive is someone else’s work,” said Rodgers. “And, there’s no one in Halifax pushing. 

“It’s got to go up the chain to a sergeant. Someone needs to connect with Newfoundland and make sure it happens.” 

He said it’s a serious matter that involves a violent assault. 

Calvin Lawrence, a 25-year veteran of the RCMP, agrees that the police aren’t making the case a priority.

“Maybe HRP says we’re going to come over and liaison with you and we’ll try to find this woman. This should be done as quickly as possible. The longer it takes the harder it is to prosecute the case.

“Justice must not only be done, it must appear to be done,” said Lawrence. “It’s a serious assault. It’s abuse of a child.”

Investigation confirmed

HRP confirmed it’s investigating a report of a youth assaulted by a woman who was not known to her.  The incident remains under investigation and charges are anticipated, said the force.

Const. John MacLeod, a spokesperson for Halifax police, said that investigations involving youth often have additional complexities. He said time must be taken to ensure that that they are completed properly so that when the case is brought before the court there are no preventable issues.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said it does not discuss whether a complaint has been received, except to advise on public safety risk or to assist an investigation.

For Brown, she’s left feeling powerless to help her daughter get justice.  

“I wasn’t there to protect her from being harmed and now I’m forced to leave her case in the hands of people who don’t seem to really care.”