BUST GOES BUST ON COPS

A 25-year-old pharmacy technician who was allegedly taken down by a
police tactical unit after being mistaken for someone else has
launched a formal complaint against the Edmonton Police Service.

Roy Persaud said he was sitting in his new Mazda 6 after work with a
colleague Wednesday night when the frightening incident unfolded.

The pair was talking in the vehicle for around 15 minutes when
co-worker Salimah Jet Ha got out of the car to get into her own
vehicle, Persaud said.

WENT FOR MAGAZINE

Realizing she left a magazine in Persaud's car, she went back to retrieve it.

Persaud said he handed it to her through the car window, a move he
suspects triggered watching police to take action.

Suddenly, he said he was surrounded by unmarked police vehicles.

"It seemed like I was going to get robbed or something," he recalled yesterday.

A few moments later he said he noticed the flashing lights and heard
police identify themselves. He was told to put his hands on his
steering wheel, which he says he did.

Then, he said, police knocked out three of the windows in his
six-week-old car. "They told me to get out of the vehicle after that," he said.

"They said, 'Get down on the ground.' I was halfway to the ground
when an officer took me down."

Persaud said during the incident he sustained cuts and scrapes and
ruined his work clothes.

Then, he said, they told him he was under arrest.

Confused, he asked if they were sure they had the right person. A
check soon after revealed they had mistaken his car for another person's.

"After that they said they made a huge mistake and I guess it was
based solely on the description of a car," he said.

He said police took him for coffee to apologize and explain how they
had made the mistake. They also offered to pay to repair the damaged
vehicle, he said.

Police could not be reached for comment yesterday.

But CBC Edmonton reported police thought they were arresting a drug dealer.

The CBC also quoted Insp. Greg Preston calling the case "unfortunate."

'UNFORTUNATE'

"We liaised with Mr. Persaud immediately and explained the
circumstances that led to him being involved in the activity that
just occurred," Preston told the CBC.

But now Persaud said he wants his new vehicle replaced. It's his
first new vehicle, he said, a present he bought himself as
consolation for having to undergo throat surgery.

"I didn't buy the vehicle with damage. I bought a brand new one," he
said. "Everyone says once those windows are broken, you can't get
them right again."