RCMP DRUG BUST NETS TOMATOES AND DAHLIAS

Plants Mistaken For Pot, Couple Arrested

RCMP have apologized to a Vancouver Island couple for mistaking their
tomatoes and dahlias for pot plants.

A Courtenay man said he was roused from sleep by police officers on
Aug. 29 and went downstairs to see his wife in handcuffs.

An RCMP officer then handed him a search warrant and told him he was
under arrest for growing marijuana, said the man, who asked not to be
named.

The officer told him he could go upstairs and change his clothes and
by the time he made it back downstairs, his wife's handcuffs had been
removed and he saw police officers with flashlights searching their
backyard.

He said he turned on a garden floodlight to allow the police officers
to get a better look at the plants in the backyard.

"Almost in the blink of an eye there was a change in the atmosphere as
the cop that accompanied me upstairs advised us that there had been a
mistake," said the man, who does not have a criminal record.

The arrests came after a two-week investigation that included aerial
surveillance of the couple's backyard.

The man said his wife, who is in her 60s and suffers from tendinitis,
was manhandled by police and suffered "considerable pain."

Last week, the couple delivered a letter of complaint to the
RCMP.

The day after, Insp. Tom Gray, the top Mountie in Courtenay,
personally delivered a letter of apology to the couple.

"I wish to state without any

reservation and on behalf of the members and the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police and do apologize for the harm that occurred when you
were arrested, handcuffed and a search warrant executed at your
residence," Gray said in the letter.

"It is important to reiterate that even though the members involved
did not intend to cause harm, and acted in good faith, I firmly
believe that we must continue to improve our practices in an effort
toward our over-arching mantra of 'safe homes and safe communities.'"

Comox Valley Echo