POLICE OFFICERS TO BE DISCIPLINED AFTER HOME TRASHED

Action against two of the drug-raid officers follows a decision that they
will not face criminal charges

Two Vancouver police officers who were investigated for trashing a drug
suspect's home nearly two years ago will be disciplined for their role in
the incident.

Constable Anne Drennan confirmed Tuesday that the officers -- among six
officers initially accused of trashing the home -- will face disciplinary
measures under the Police Act.

The possible penalties, which are expected to be handed out within two
weeks, range from a simple reprimand to a suspension.

"That's now under discussion," said Drennan, who refused to name the
officers until the penalties are assessed. No other information was
released.

The decision to discipline the officers followed an internal investigation
conducted by members of the Saanich police department. The decision also
followed an earlier decision by Crown counsel not to lay criminal charges
against the officers.

The officers, who had been placed on administrative duty since the March
1998 raid, will return to their regular duties.

The internal investigation was begun after a group of mostly junior
Vancouver police officers, five of them women, used a battering ram to bash
down a door of a Commercial Drive apartment belonging to Joseph Denault.
Denault's lawyer, Peter Kendall, said at the time that the officers then
went on a vandalism spree and in the end netted only a couple of baggies of
marijuana.

Constables Jodyne Dyck, Elizabeth Miller, Katrina O'Reilly, Denise Barry and
Jeff Fletcher, along with Sergeant Sharron Bayley, were investigated. The
first four officers had less than three years' experience in the department
when the incident occurred, while Bayley had 22 years' experience.

Provincial court Judge Herbert Weitzel eventually threw out the
drug-trafficking charges against Denault and two other men because he had
problems with the way police behaved in the apartment and he couldn't
believe their subsequent testimony on the matter.

Court records contain evidence that while the six officers were alone in
Denault's apartment, shaving cream was sprayed around the bathroom, bottles
of liquor were partially emptied, torn photographs were tossed on the floor
and film was removed from one camera and exposed. With the exception of the
liquor dumping, none of the officers owned up to doing any of this and
refrained from accusing each other of the vandalism.

Weitzel found "their evidence collectively is completely lacking in
credibility."

Kendall said Tuesday he hadn't heard about the possible suspensions and
needed more information before commenting on the internal investigation.
Denault could not be reached for comment.