POLICE BUST DOWN WRONG DOOR IN BOTCHED RAID

After busting down the door of a Hamilton apartment and frightening
the 68-year-old woman inside, Toronto police are admitting they had
the wrong address in a botched raid last week.

Whether they read the document wrong or had the wrong unit number to
begin with, Const. Tony Vella could not say, they quickly realized
their mistake; the warrant was meant for the unit next door.

"It was the incorrect address. It was supposed to be the neighbour's
address," Vella said Sunday.

The raid was part of Project Marvel, a series of 67 search warrants
executed across Canada as part of a months-long investigation
targeting drug dealers and gang members.

But Sharon McCrudden, who lives on the 14th floor of the building on
Melvin Ave. in Hamilton, had nothing to do with it.

"The only thing I can confirm is that they executed several warrants
at that exact apartment building. They did enter her home. There was
damage to her door as a result."

In an interview with the Hamilton Spectator, McCrudden said she
planned to get a lawyer.

"I've been so stressed out I didn't go to work today," she said Friday.

McCrudden said she was awake at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday when she heard
three loud bangs at her door. She says she heard another bang as two
police officers entered her bedroom.

She said the officers presented her with a warrant as she sat crying
on the edge of her bed, and they left after "a ruckus out in the
hallway" led to the realization the warrant was for the vacant unit next door.

Vella said police returned to the address Friday with documents for
McCrudden for reimbursement for the damage done to her door. He
couldn't say whether McCrudden filed a complaint with police.

Building manger Carl Clark said police had made amends and replaced
the door right away.

"There's not much we can say about it, obviously they took ownership
in it," he said. "We know what was done wrong, but they took care of
it so we're happy."

Still, he has only spoken to McCrudden briefly, adding she has been
keeping a low-profile because "she was so distraught."

"It's a very unfortunate incident, the officers are doing what they
can," Vella said, adding he hopes it does not overshadow the
project's success.

In cooperation with officers across Canada in Project Marvel, police
seized more than $110,000, 27 firearms, 2.75 kg of cocaine, 332 grams
of marijuana and 32 grams of MDMA.

- - With files from the Hamilton Spectator