JUDGE THROWS OUT DRUG CHARGES AFTER 'BAD FAITH' RCMP
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A wacky tip about someone tied up in a house wasn't good enough reason
for police to search a property without a warrant, a B.C. Supreme
Court judge has ruled.

The federal Crown stayed marijuana charges against Karen Brunskil and
Steven Leahy after Justice John Truscott said police violated their
rights when they searched their property April 26, 2009.

The RCMP were investigating an anonymous second-hand report, received
by phone, suggesting someone was tied up at a house. Two officers
arrived at Leahy and Brunskill's home, located in a rural area near
100 Mile House, and said they needed to look around.

The couple allowed the police to look inside their house, but balked
when police said they wanted to search the outbuildings as well.
Growing marijuana was found inside three locked sheds behind the
house. Officers forced their way inside the sheds.

Justice Truscott said the officers had no objective reason to think
anything amiss was afoot. The initial anonymous call to the RCMP was
bizarre and contained little rational information suggesting someone
was in danger.

The couple's behaviour at the head of their driveway after police
arrived was not unusual. They had no criminal records and police had
no information to suggest the house was producing drugs.

"In my view, when the two constables went to the address and spoke to
the accused at the front gate and were told that there was no one tied
up at that residence, they should have accepted that and left,"
Justice Truscott said.

"I recognize that from the police perspective it is always considered
risky to ignore a complaint, but there must be some common sense
exercised before intruding on a person's home.

"It is actually quite alarming that the police should have considered
that they had the right to carry out a warrantless search on the basis
of such a telephone call. I consider, in all the circumstances, the
police acted in bad faith in carrying out this search when it was
clearly an unreasonable suspicion," the judge said.

The trial was held in January. Truscott's written decision in the case
was publicly released Wednesday.