BABY SEIZED FROM SUITE WHERE DRUGS USED

Boy's Father Charged With Assaulting Police Officer

EDMONTON - Police seized a baby boy Saturday night from an apartment
littered with crack pipes and bottles of alcohol.

Officers were first called to the first-floor suite near 107th Avenue
and 107th Street that morning after someone complained the occupants
were using drugs.

Police found several people in the apartment, including a prostitute
and her customer, but had no legal grounds to take the four-month-old
baby, police spokeswoman Annette Bidniak said Tuesday.

The police Child At Risk Response Team, which partners police officers
with child-welfare workers, was asked to investigate.

After finding evidence of recent drug and alcohol abuse, they got a
warrant to seize the baby and place him in foster care.

Police say the baby's parents refused to co-operate and the father
struggled with officers.

The 25-year-old Edmonton man, whose name cannot be released to protect
the identity of the baby, is charged with assaulting a police officer
with intent to resist arrest and obstructing a police officer.

The baby's mother, a 35-year-old woman, has not been charged. Workers
with the province's Children's Services are investigating.