THIS COP RELEASE HAD FISHY SMELL

It's not often a press release comes in from the Durham Regional
Police Service which leaves us in the newsroom scratching our heads.

But a release last Friday had us doing just that and asking ourselves
if it was a mistake.

The release dealt with charges against the owners of an Oshawa
convenience store charged with possession of a controlled substance.
The release also stated the couple was "allegedly selling illegal
drugs over the counter."

The release went on to say officers located a candy bucket containing
individually wrapped plastic bags of oxycodon tablets and other
illegal drugs. It didn't provide names of the accused or the name of
the store but added it was located on Ritson Road in Oshawa near a
local public school.

A release like this required more than just a quick rewrite for the
paper so crime reporter Jeff Mitchell quickly threw on his coat and
headed over to the store, which wasn't hard to find. The owners, who
refused to give their names, were shocked at the details provided by
police but admitted there was a bag of marijuana and other drugs at
the back of the store. They also noted they had not been held for a
bail hearing and were allowed to leave the police station that night.
The store was open for business at 9 p.m. the same day they had been
charged.

When contacted for comment, a police spokeswoman admitted there was no
"concrete evidence" drugs had been sold at the store and the couple
were never charged with trafficking.

The release contained a lot of contradictions but of even more concern
to us was the fact the police did not name the couple. The spokeswoman
said the names were withheld to protect the identity of the couple's
three children.

That argument could apply to any person charged and I have a feeling
one of the officers made a personal call in this case, something they
should never do.

We debated a long time as how to write this for our readers and in the
end we decided to give the couple their say, let the police have their
say and leave the final decision where it usually rests, with the courts.

I don't think we have heard the last of this story.

Managing Editor Mike Johnston writes a column every second week about
life in the newsroom.