LAVAL POLICE BITTER AFTER PARASIRIS ACQUITTAL

Warrant Was Used 50 Minutes Earlier

Laval Police Chief Jean-Pierre Gariepy expressed dismay at the
decision and reiterated the reason his officers entered Parasiris'
home in the first place.

"If one is to blame about Tessier's death it is Basile Parassiris"
said Laval Police Chief Jean-Pierre Gariepy to the press after the
acquital decision.

"Beyond the verdict, it is useful to remember that Mr. Parasiris had
four firearms in his home and only one was legally registered,"
Gariepy said. "We found a variety of drugs and 17 cellphones and
pagers in the home."

But Gariepy also acknowledged the trial had raised concerns about how
the police operation was conducted.

He said the force will recommend that Quebec's Public Security
Department review the guidelines and training for "dynamic entries"
and that it clarify the procedures for obtaining search warrants.

"Any major event calls for a revision of our practices and policies,
which is what we started doing the day after Const. Tessier died," he said.

Other law-enforcement groups indicated they too would reflect on the
trial's outcome and the police operation in which Tessier was killed.

Representatives of both the Quebec municipal police federation and
the Laval police union stated they would take the necessary time to
analyze the judgment.

"This serious event has and will always affect the entire policing
community," said Denis Cote, president of the Quebec municipal police
federation.

"Municipal police are professionals and take to heart the security of
their citizens."

Andre Potvin, president of the Laval police union, echoed Cote's view.

"It goes without saying that reflection is needed," Potvin said in a statement.

Parasiris had maintained that he was defending his family when police
smashed through the front door of his south-shore home with a battering ram.

He said he and his wife believed they were the victims of brazen home
invaders when he engaged in a wild, yet seconds-long shootout with
police who were trying to gain entry to his bedroom.

Parasiris said he had little time to react to protect his wife and
two children, one of whom called 911 for help.

Much of the defense's case centered around whether Tessier, who was
in plainclothes and wearing a bulletproof vest with the word "police"
on the back, was properly identifiable.

Warrant not valid

In motions heard before the trial began and kept from the jury,
Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer declared illegal the
warrant police used to enter Parasiris' home.

The judge ruled the evidence used to obtain the warrant was
insufficient, lacked detailed information and "should not have been issued."

The warrant was valid only for day time usage which based on legal
procedures starts at 6:00a.m. and finishes at 9p.m. For unknown yet
reasons police entered at 5:10 a.m., just fifty minutes earlier.

Cournoyer said that rights guaranteed to Parasiris under the federal
Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated.

The judge also ruled the so-called dynamic entry by police was
unnecessary. He found the aggressive tactic was not originally part
of their plan in a crackdown on a cocaine-trafficking ring in the
Laval area north of Montreal.

Cournoyer also acquitted Parasiris of the attempted murder of another
police officer during the raid and two weapons-related offences.

Parasiris still faces several weapons-related offences.

At press time the crown prosecutor has not appealed the verdict.