The Arrest

Harry MacNeil returned with the police officer shortly after, "who advised Viola Desmond that he 'had orders' to throw her out of the theater. 'I told him that i was not doing anything and that i did not think he would do that', advised Viola Desmond. 'He then took my by the shoulders and dragged as far as the lobby. I had lost my purse and my shoe became disarranged in the scuffle.' The police officer paused momentarily to allow Viola Desmond to adjust her shoe, while a bystander retrieved her purse. Then the forcible ejection resumed. As Viola Desmond recounted: The policeman grasped my shoulders and the manager grabbed my legs, injuring my knee and hip. they carried me bodily from the theater out into the street. the policeman put me into a waiting taxi and i was driven to the police station. within a few minutes the manager appeared and the Chief of Police [Elmo C. Langille]. They left together and returned in an hour with a warrant for my arrest" (229).

"She was taken to the town lock-up, where she was held overnight. adding further insult, she was jailed in a cell alongside male prisoners. Mustering every ounce of dignity, Viola Desmond deliberately put on her white gloves, and steeled herself to sit bolt upright all night long"(229). Viola was imprisoned for 12 hours. 

Backhouse, Constance. 1999. Colour-Coded, A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900-1950. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.