COPS LOSE APPEAL OF BOTCHED RAID

Dill pickle sandwiches are still Darryl Crampton's favourite.

But 10 years ago, he found himself wearing one after members of the Calgary
Police Service tactical unit burst into his home, ordered him to the floor
and searched for a marijuana grow operation that didn't exist.

Alberta's Court of Appeal recently ruled in favour of Crampton, upholding a
lower court judgment awarding the former Calgary resident $20,000 for the
five cracked ribs and bruised jaw he sustained in the incident.

Crampton, who moved to Trail, B.C., about a year after the incident, was
elated to hear the emotional roller-coaster of the past 10 years is over.

"I'm a happy camper," he said, after learning of last week's positive ruling.

The matter first went to court in 2003 when Crampton sued then-chief of
police Christine Silverberg and several members of the police drug and
tactical units for assault after the April 1995 incident.

The court ruled in his favour in March 2003, but the police appealed,
saying the assault was justified because they believed the residence
contained weapons and a marijuana grow op.

That information had come from an informant, Justice Adelle Fruman wrote in
her judgment.

Crampton had just completed some computer courses and was looking to start
a new job that spring.

He had just put a pickle into a slice of bread after using a
plastic-handled knife to fish one out from the jar when he heard his door open.

"All I saw was a guy with an assault rifle screaming at me to get my face
on the floor," Crampton recalled.

He hesitated before dropping the knife and an officer "assisted him in his
descent," says the judgment.

"The impact with the floor was sufficient to knock the wind out of Mr.
Crampton," the justice wrote.

"I went to the floor so fast that when they let me up off the floor, the
dill pickle sandwich was stuck to my T-shirt," said Crampton.

A constable pinned Crampton to the floor by kneeling on his back and kept
him there for 10 minutes while officers searched his home.

After failing to turn up drugs or weapons, police found they had the wrong
suspect and the name on the search warrant wasn't Crampton.

"Our argument basically was that the use of the tac team was unreasonable
and excessive force and the trial judge found that to be the case, as well
as the three judges on the Court of Appeal," said Crampton's lawyer Karim
Devraj.

The way Calgary police approach similar situations has evolved since that
1995 incident, said Chief Jack Beaton.

"Things have changed substantially in the way we not only approve search
warrants but execute search warrants since 10 years ago," Beaton said.

For example, police must conduct searches during the day, unless there are
extenuating circumstances.

A B.C. judge's ruling that 10 seconds isn't enough time between announcing
police presence and knocking a door down will also have an effect on
policing in Calgary, Beaton said.

Crampton bears no ill will toward the Calgary Police Service, acknowledging
it was just doing its job.

And he still enjoys his pickle sandwiches.

"They're easy to make and fill the gap," he said.