COP CORRUPTION TURNS FIESTA FOUL

Mexican Police Demand $1,000 To Free Man

A Saskatoon teenager might have avoided a Mexican jail over the
holidays if only he'd had $17 to bribe the first cop who arrested him
in an apparent shakedown in a city square.

Instead, his father spent about $1,000 the next day to spring his
son, even though the young man was never charged with any crime.

"My advice to fellow Canadians would be if you're thinking of
visiting Mexico with teenage children: Don't. It's not a place for
kids," said Barry Anderson.

This Christmas, Anderson and his wife, Heather, decided to treat the
family to a sun-soaked vacation in Puerto Vallarta. The Andersons had
previously travelled to the city on Mexico's Pacific coast 25 years
ago and they remembered the place fondly.

This time they travelled with their children, aged 11, 15 and 19.

On Dec. 29, their eldest son, 19-year-old Scott, went to the town
boardwalk with a friend from Alberta. Half a dozen times, as they
strolled along the boardwalk and chatted on park benches, a teenager
approached and asked them if they wanted to buy marijuana.

At around midnight, according to Scott Anderson, the teen approached
them asking for a cigarette.

"He said he'd leave us alone if we gave him a smoke. I didn't think
anything of it," he said.

The teenager took the cigarette, emptied the tobacco from it and
refilled it with pot. He then lit the cigarette, took two puffs, and
threw it on the ground near Anderson's feet.

Within seconds, three police officers descended on him, taking him
into custody. One of the officers advised Anderson that if he gave
them 100 pesos (about $17), they would release him. Anderson had only
30 pesos on him and he was hauled to jail.

At the jail he was advised that the price of freedom would now be
$100 US. Several times during the night Anderson asked to call his
parents. He was ignored or rebuffed. He slept on the cement floor of
a cell wrapped in a smelly sheet.

At one point, he awoke to watch police officers administer a beating
to a local drunk.

Meanwhile back at the hotel, Barry and Heather Anderson assumed their
son was hanging around with other teenagers at the hotel. At 5 a.m.
when Scott still hadn't arrived, his mother voiced concern to his
father.

"He is 19. He stays with buddies a lot and I assumed he'd fallen
asleep in one of the other people's suites," said Barry Anderson, who
works in Saskatoon as the assistant director of the Canadian Customs
and Revenue Agency.

At 8 a.m. when there was still no sign of Scott, Anderson went
looking for him. He found the friend from Alberta who finally told
him that Scott had been arrested.

Anderson went to the police station searching for his son. The police
officers told him it would now cost $500 US to release his son. The
police officers provided two "lawyers" who also demanded payment.
They also collected a fee for the magistrate who they said had to be
called in to allow Anderson's release.

The total tab was about $1,000 Cdn by the time Scott and Barry
Anderson walked away from the police station around noon.

Barry Anderson said he had been in contact with an official from the
Canadian consulate who urged him to refuse to pay the bribe and fight
the apparent shakedown.

The Mexican police officers told Anderson his son would have to spend
at least four or five days in jail awaiting an appearance before a
judge.

"Ignorance and panic are a strange combination. We weren't there (to
fight police corruption), so I paid the money and we got out of
there," Anderson said. According to the Foreign Affairs Department, a
complaint was lodged with the chief of the Puerto Vallarta police
department.

"Our consul in Puerto Vallarta arranged a meeting to lodge a formal
complaint relating to the police allegedly arresting the young man
and extorting money from him to release him from jail," said Reynald
Doiron, a spokesperson in Ottawa.

"The consulate received a letter from the chief of police advising
that following their investigation they have insufficient proof to
take action against any police officers.

About five million Canadian tourists visited Mexico between 1995 and
2000, according to the Foreign Affairs Department. Doiron said the
department doesn't tabulate the number of complaints it receives.

"The department is aware that there have been other such complaints
in Mexico, but they are relatively few compared to the large number
of Canadians who visit Mexico each year," Doiron said.

Doiron added that anyone who gets into trouble with the law while in
Mexico or any country should contact the nearest consulate as soon as
possible.

The Andersons say they were able to enjoy their holiday even after
the incident, although Scott Anderson said he'll never trust a police
officer in quite the same way.

"It scared the hell out of my son and he stayed pretty close to us
for the rest of our time there," Barry Anderson said.