TOP COP SAYS, 'LET US BREAK THE LAW'

WINNIPEG --Police officers should be allowed to break the law under certain circumstances, says Winnipeg police Chief Jack Ewatski.

"We're not talking about breaking the law willy-nilly here," he said. "But we are urging the minister of justice to allow (officers) in certain kinds of undercover investigations to perform acts that contravene the Criminal Code."

Some legal experts say any violation by police, even with the best of intentions, will take them down a slippery slope that can only end in corruption.

"They already have enough tricks that they really don't have to resort to dirty ones," said Anne McGillivray, professor of law at the University of Manitoba.

Ewatski acknowledged the danger but argued that during a criminal investigation institutional checks and balances would ensure officers don't abuse the system.

The chief's comments came in response to a recent resolution passed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police urging the federal government to allow officers greater freedom to break the Criminal Code.

The plea followed a Supreme Court decision last year that slapped RCMP on the wrist for a reverse-sting operation where undercover officers allegedly sold a large quantity of hashish to senior people in a drug trafficking organization.