LET'S HOPE THESE COPS NOW HAVE THE MESSAGE

Storm-Trooper Antics Belong On TV, Not In Canada

Perhaps B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce had seen enough of
the harm caused when Rambo-rabid cops barge into places with guns
drawn before sussing out a situation.

Perhaps she wanted to get the word out that in Canada law enforcers
are expected to do some old-fashioned footwork before scrambling into
storm-trooper gear to put lives at risk.

A lot of Province readers were outraged by the court ruling last week
that saw evidence of a substantial grow operation in a stylish Surrey
manor tossed out.

Police have to smash into drug suspects' homes with battering rams and
weapons to nab the guy in the act, stop the destruction or concealment
of evidence and protect their lives from trigger-happy thugs, they
argued.

Well, they don't usually, unless they're on TV.

I can't recall the last reported incident of a shootout or police
death during a raid on a B.C. grow-op.

And yet coroner statistics show that, since 1992, 267 citizens have
lost their lives in B.C. during police-related incidents.

One involved the death of a young man with a channel-changer in his
hand. Police who burst into his living room fired, thinking he had a
gun.

According to Bruce's summary, Mounties watched the house on 157A
Street on nine previous occasions.

Not once did they have reason to believe violent people lived there or
that guns or other weapons were inside.

In fact, when they pounded on the front door, then entered a garage
side door and without warning used a battering ram to split open an
interior basement door, they didn't even know if anyone -- never mind
anyone armed -- was inside.

They could have found a two-year-old playing stick 'em up with a water
pistol.

And what did they think whoever was inside would do?

Flush 700 leafy plants, 1,000-watt heating lamps and
industrial-strength electrical cords down the toilet? Flee while
surrounded by six officers toting guns in the ready position?

What are the chances a marijuana farmer would risk life in jail for
murdering a cop when in B.C. pot production might net you two years?

"An unexpected intrusion of a man's property can give rise to violent
incidents," one of Canada's top judges warned years ago.

"It is in the interests of personal safety of the householder and the
police, as well as respect for the privacy of the individual, that the
law requires, prior to entrance for search or arrest, that a police
officer identify himself and request admittance."

It's what's known to police in Canada as the "knock-and-announce"
rule.

And it's common sense in situations where police have absolutely no
reason to suspect a violent response or any risk of the destruction of
evidence.

"The actions of police created a real risk of harm to an occupant by
accidental shooting and to the police in terms of an aggressive
response to the violent entry," Bruce wrote.

She noted that violent, forceful entries with guns drawn appeared to
be standard practice at the Surrey RCMP detachment, that neither
pre-entry surveillance nor a risk assessment to determine the amount
of force required for a safe entry was normal procedure there.

Hopefully, they will be from now on.