TALK BACK: WE ASKED YOU

(What Do You Think Of Vancouver Police Actions During And After A
Controversial Drug Bust That A Judge Threw Out Of Court?)

I think the judge was right. Police are supposed to uphold law and
order. They might have tainted the evidence when they vandalized the
place. One thing for sure: I don't think I'd want them party at my
home.

CONNIE SHANNON
Surrey
~~~~~~~~~~~
I find it incredible that every time a drug dealer or some other
slimeball is arrested it is our police that are put on trial first.
When a police officer does something as trivial as dumping a bottle of
whisky down a toilet, that's no justification for a judge to totally
kick the case out of court.

BUD JOHNSON
Richmond
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I find it very disconcerting the way law enforcement in Vancouver is
headed.

First, we have the APEC inquiry with out-of-control RCMP officers
pepper-spraying demonstrators and creating a climate for tension
without just reason.

Next, we have the illegal confiscation of alcohol by the Vancouver
police from people attending the Symphony of Fire, even though the
alcohol was unopened and the people were going to private residences.

Top all of that with Constable Anne Drennan's comments: "Don't come to
downtown Vancouver on New Year's Eve unless you have somewhere to go,"
dictating what we as free citizens can and cannot do.

And now Vancouver police officers apparently committing perjury and
acting like children in giving evidence in a drug case.

Police state??? You tell me?

DENNIS CHESWORTH
Coquitlam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I feel we need to support the police in fighting the war on drugs. I
think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion.

EDWARD TU
Vancouver
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have an equation for you: Vandalism + pictures + perjury fire all
of Charlie's Angels. We, the public, need to be protected. Who is
going to protect us from Charlie's Angels?

ERIC MOSS
Student, UBC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The story about the police officers has a decidedly sexist tone as
your staff reporter somehow deemed it necessary to drive home the
point that all the officers involved were women. There was no need for
this: Everyone would have realized the fact by noting the names published.

TRICIA PAXON
Maple Ridge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Female police officers should not be able to do a bust like this
without being supervised by a male officer.

LARRY DESCHAMBAULT
Richmond
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who does this Const. Drennan think she is? She gives me the impression
that she thinks her sister police officers are above reproach.

Personally, I think it's an example of what happens when merit takes a
back seat to political correctness in the hiring process. These
members of Vancouver's so called "finest" have shown what can happen
when the police begin to get out of control. I'm sure most of us still
remember around the time of the 1999 Grey Cup activities in Vancouver
how the police took it upon themselves to search everyone going down
town and seize their liquor.

Who's making the policy around here? It's a dangerous thing when the
police start making the rules. Anne Drennan is only a constable, but
listening to her you'd almost think she was running the show. She and
the rest of the "employment equity" police should remember that when
you lower the standards in the name of political correctness, you
lower the quality.

RAY TRUE
Chilliwack
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Vancouver Police Department searches law-abiding citizens at
SkyTrain and confiscates unopened liquor on New Year's Eve. The same
department tells the citizens of our so-called free society to stay
out of the downtown core. I am not at all surprised by the activities
of the officers involved, nor am I surprised at the protectionist
attitude spewed at us by the VPD through Anne Drennan.

STEVE LAROCHELLE
Coquitlam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the past 17 years I have lived in several different cities
including Vancouver, New Westminster and lots of small towns, U.S.A.,
and have witnessed police actions in most, if not all, of the
neighbourhoods that I resided in. I have noticed there is a certain
culture existing in each location; e.g. the New West force is very
community-minded and can be accused of being more PR than crime
busters. I am very proud of the New West force and feel nothing but
vibes of friendliness and neighborliness while the Vancouver police
force terrifies me. I am a white, middle-aged female and know for a
fact that this police force oversteps its mandate in dealing with the
"thems". Now we can watch them close ranks and accuse everyone else of
being in the wrong while they "investigate" themselves.

KAREN TURNER
Maple Ridge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I truly can't believe that five police officers would be so stupid as
to take pictures that would incriminate themselves and think that this
wouldn't come up in court. It's just too bizarre -- so who really did
take these pictures?

It seems we are to think that these police officers (all five) are the
bad guys in this case and that the drug dealer(s) are the ones we are
suppose to believe! Because no one seems to have come up with the
person or persons that took these pictures, the police officers are
the ones who are deemed as being untruthful.

Chalk one up for the crooks again.

D. WATKINS
Surrey