Facts · cover sheet
filed pre-litigation
Date
August 1, 2023 · ~11:00 AM
Location
Langley, BC · private dwelling, plaintiff’s home
Department
Langley RCMP · Brookswood detachment
Officers
Cst. Daryl + Cst. D. Ryl · full names pending ATIP
Defendant
Attorney General of Canada · RCMP is federal
Witness
Father · present in kitchen, willing to provide statement
File no.
#2023-25586
Status
Pre-litigation · counsel selection
Wrist injury
Pre-existing fracture aggravated by prone restraint — supports additional physical harm head
Facts · cover sheet
filed pre-litigation
Plaintiff
Joshua Trommel
Defendants
Brian Trommel (father) · Christine Trommel (mother)
Jurisdiction
BC Supreme Court
Location
Langley, BC
Status
Pre-litigation · counsel selection
Discovery
May 2026
Hard deadline
May 1, 2028 · 2-yr basic from May 2026 discovery
Core claims
Appropriation of personality · IIMS · parental negligence · battery · wrongful eviction
Facts · cover sheet
notice required · urgent
Plaintiff
Sylvia Baitz
Defendant
City of Surrey
Forum
BC Small Claims / Supreme
Incident date
[DATE] — confirm immediately
Location
Main Street, Surrey BC · near intersection
Hazard
Sunken/uneven sidewalk panel · gravel displaced, raised edge
Injury
Bilateral knee lacerations · road rash · bandaged, bleeding
Photos
3 preserved · IMG_9319 (dip), IMG_9320 (scene), IMG_9322 (injuries)
Notice deadline
2 months from incident · Community Charter s.285
Status
Notice required — urgent
Witness · statement on file
F
Father
Present in kitchen · Aug 1, 2023
On record
To the best of my recollection, we were having some trouble with our son Joshua and were concerned about his mental health and wanted the police to come take him to the hospital for a proper wellness check up and hopefully get some help.
I remember the 2 police officers coming to the front door and chatting with us, and then asking Josh some questions to see what was going on. Josh was answering all the questions well, but when they asked him who lived there with him, he answered that he lived there with his dad. He didn’t mention his mom or brother or sister. They asked again and when he answered the same way, they looked at me and I shrugged, and waited to see if they were going to bring him to hospital or not, or ask more questions.
It seems they decided that they were going to bring him in, and when they reached for him, he left and went away from the foyer towards the kitchen. They followed him inside and immediately grabbed him aggressively and put him down onto the kitchen floor. I got down by the floor beside him while they put him in handcuffs and kneeled on his back. It looked painful. I was extremely disturbed by how forceful things got quickly, even though he wasn’t being violent & I had called them for help. I pleaded with him to not resist them and for them to be careful.
They brought him to hospital after that and I couldn’t see him until next day and the hospital wouldn’t give me any information… and then they let him out on his own without telling me. I was very very disappointed with how the system failed us and traumatized my son instead of helping him.
I remember the 2 police officers coming to the front door and chatting with us, and then asking Josh some questions to see what was going on. Josh was answering all the questions well, but when they asked him who lived there with him, he answered that he lived there with his dad. He didn’t mention his mom or brother or sister. They asked again and when he answered the same way, they looked at me and I shrugged, and waited to see if they were going to bring him to hospital or not, or ask more questions.
It seems they decided that they were going to bring him in, and when they reached for him, he left and went away from the foyer towards the kitchen. They followed him inside and immediately grabbed him aggressively and put him down onto the kitchen floor. I got down by the floor beside him while they put him in handcuffs and kneeled on his back. It looked painful. I was extremely disturbed by how forceful things got quickly, even though he wasn’t being violent & I had called them for help. I pleaded with him to not resist them and for them to be careful.
They brought him to hospital after that and I couldn’t see him until next day and the hospital wouldn’t give me any information… and then they let him out on his own without telling me. I was very very disappointed with how the system failed us and traumatized my son instead of helping him.
“he left and went away from the foyer towards the kitchen”
Defeats flight / exigency narrative
Retreat is not flight. Walking away during a wellness call is a legal right — not grounds for arrest. No threat, no crime, no exigent circumstance.
“immediately grabbed him aggressively”
Defeats de-escalation narrative
Officers escalated to force instantly. No de-escalation attempt — destroys any good-faith defence and supports excessive force / battery.
“put him down onto the kitchen floor … kneeled on his back”
Corroborates prone restraint + s.7 asphyxia ground
Independent corroboration of positional restraint. Supports excessive force claim and the pre-existing wrist fracture aggravation head.
“even though he wasn’t being violent”
Defeats MHA s.28 apprehension threshold
Father’s direct testimony: zero provocation. Dismantles any exigent-circumstances or officer-safety justification for force.
“I had called them for help”
Supports punitive / bad-faith ground
The caller himself was “extremely disturbed” by the response. A helping role weaponized against the family — strengthens Ward punitive damages.
“the hospital wouldn’t give me any information … let him out on his own without telling me”
Compounds s.10(b) breach + s.7/s.12 no-aftercare
Family stonewalled at hospital + discharged without notification. No aftercare, no referral, no follow-up. Supports the aggregate s.12 grossly disproportionate argument.
Legal grounds
tap to expand
Pain journal · contemporaneous
Daily entries support continuity, causation, and damages quantum.
Outcome scenarios · probability-weighted
Damages stack · per-head, conservative or strong
Stacked total
$2.25M
Settlement median $800k – $1.2M
Trial ceiling $2 – $3M
Floor $317k · Degen 2023 BCSC
Most likely $300k – $600k
Trial ceiling $1.5M+
Deadline May 2028
Most likely $8k – $14k
Best case $20k – $40k
Floor $6k – $8k · minor injury cap
Comparable awards · Canadian & global scale
Ward framework · s.24(1) damages doctrine
Vancouver (City) v. Ward, 2010 SCC 27: Charter damages serve three functions — compensation, vindication, and deterrence.
This fact pattern triggers all three maximally: no underlying crime, dwelling entry, forced antipsychotic medication, prolonged detention, documented PTSD. When all three Ward functions engage at maximum, courts assess damages globally rather than per-head — and global assessment routinely exceeds the arithmetic sum of stacked heads.
cf. Henry v. BC, indivisible injury doctrine.
Silence premium · why the AG settles
The AG settles confidentially to suppress precedent, avoid press, kill discovery, and resolve before trial. This is a structural incentive — not just case-strength pricing.
Each public-ready evidence piece raises the premium. Every press-capable lawyer contact, every ATIP disclosure, every Charter ground formally pleaded increases the AG’s internal cost of keeping this quiet.
Baseline: Mona Wang v. AG Canada (2021) — BC RCMP wellness check, settled confidentially. This case: Wang + no underlying crime + dwelling entry + forced antipsychotic medication. Silence premium stacks accordingly.
Per-violation value · grounds expanded
Counsel · prospects ranked
tap status to cycle
Strategy · pre-retainer
Contact at least 3 lawyers before committing to any one. Compare retainer structures — contingency terms vary significantly. Do not sign until all consultations are complete.
Voicemails not working — switch to EMAIL. Cameron Ward, Arvay Finlay, Klein Lawyers, DLA Law all received outreach. Follow up in 5 business days if no response.
Be expensive to fight quietly. Each press-capable lawyer contact, each documented evidence piece, each Charter ground formally pleaded raises the AG’s internal cost of suppressing this case publicly.
Timeline · expected horizon
Evidence · before retainer
Build the file before sign-up. Each item compounds leverage.
— / —
Risks · what AG will attack
Kill shot
Limitation. Rule 9-5 strike likely. s.8(1)(d) discoverability + s.18 incapacity must both be argued. Anything showing 2023–2025 functional capacity (taxes, leases, employment, banking, driving) hurts s.18.
Doorway
Godoy. R v. Godoy [1999] 1 SCR 311 gives 911-wellness entry authority. Counter-attack is scope — entry to verify safety, not detain/medicate. The 911 call audio defines the doorway size.
MHA s.28
If apprehension was lawful, forced-medication ground weakens. Father’s “answering well… not violent” testimony is the linchpin against s.28 threshold.
Causation
AG hires their own forensic psychiatrist; will subpoena pre-2023 GP records looking for alternative causes for PTSD.
Self-rep
Audit every email, complaint, social post written pre-retainer for inconsistencies — they will all be disclosed.
Call script
Read once before each consultation.
Drafts · ready for review
Outreach email · standard templateto counsel
Subject: Civil Consultation — Wellness Call / RCMP Charter Claim — Trommel
Hi [Name],
My name is Joshua Trommel. I’m reaching out because I have a potential civil claim arising from a warrantless wellness-call entry by Langley RCMP in August 2023.
The incident involved unlawful entry into my home, excessive force, arbitrary detention, forced antipsychotic medication, and overnight solitary confinement — all without charge. The basic 2-year limitation expired August 2025; the claim survives on discoverability and PTSD-based incapacity under the BC Limitation Act.
Full case brief: https://brief.heyitsmejosh.com
It covers the alleged Charter breaches (ss. 7, 8, 9, 12), relevant case law, estimated damages, and a full timeline. Based on your background, I believe you’d be well-suited for this matter.
I’d like to book an in-person consultation at your earliest convenience.
Thank you,
Joshua Trommel
CRCC complaint · skeletonto commission
To: Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP
Re: Langley RCMP (Brookswood), File #2023-25586
Conduct complained of:
1. Warrantless entry into private dwelling on non-criminal wellness call.
2. Prone restraint by kneeling on back — respiratory distress.
3. Apprehension absent lawful MHA s.28 grounds.
4. No s.10(b) Charter caution.
5. Forcible antipsychotic medication without consent.
6. Overnight solitary confinement, no charge.
7. Discharge with no aftercare, no family notification.
Strategic: file AFTER counsel reviews. CRCC findings non-binding but persuasive. Does NOT toll limitation.
FOI / ATIP · 4 requeststo crown
1. RCMP ATIP — officer names + badges, notebooks (Form 1624), GO Report, BWC, PRIME-BC entries, MHA forms generated. File #2023-25586.
2. E-Comm 9-1-1 BC FOI — 911 audio, CAD notes, RCMP↔dispatch comms for Aug 1, 2023.
3. BCEHS Privacy Office — ePCR, dispatch logs, paramedic narratives.
4. Hospital ROI — full chart Aug 1–2, 2023: ER triage, admission, MD orders, MAR, restraint records, MHA Form 4/Form 1, nursing notes, discharge.
Demand letter · skeletonwithout prejudice
Without prejudice — settlement purposes only
1. Parties: Trommel v. Crown in right of Canada (RCMP).
2. Facts: 2-paragraph summary.
3. Causes: Charter ss.7, 8, 9, 10(b), 12; battery; false imprisonment; IIMS; negligent investigation (Hill v. Hamilton-Wentworth 2007 SCC 41).
4. Damages: general, Charter (Ward), aggravated, punitive, future earning capacity, special. Range $X–$Y.
5. Limitation: discovery May 11, 2026 (s.8(1)(d)); alt. s.18.
6. Offer: open 30 days. 70–80% of mid-case estimate. Then file.
7. Confidentiality: standard on terms; resist NDA on underlying facts (cf. Mona Wang).