GROW-OP NOT LIKE MAYERTHORPE

Contrary to columnist Iain Hunter's recollections, a botched
"grow-op" raid in Surrey that resulted in seized cannabis plants
being ruled inadmissible was not analogous to the botched stakeout in
Mayerthorpe, Alta. ("Judges must think police work in a fantasy world," Feb 9).

In Mayerthorpe, the grow-op was incidental to the investigation and
entry into buildings had been made many hours before the four police
officers were fatally ambushed.

The botched raid in Surrey was more like the botched raid of the
vessel MV Bakur off the coast of B.C. in 2006, in which 1,630
kilograms of cannabis found onboard was ruled inadmissible due to
improper police procedures.

Thankfully, the botched raid in Surrey was not like a botched raid in
Abbotsford in 1999, when police burst into a child's birthday party
with guns drawn and shot the family dog, or a botched raid in North
Vancouver in 1994, when police entered the home of Daniel Possee and
shot him dead for brandishing a remote control, or the botched raid
in Montreal last year, in which the occupant mistook the police for
home invaders and fatally shot police Const. Daniel Tessier, a
42-year-old father of two.

Matthew M. Elrod

Victoria