POLICE TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS STEMMING FROM LASQUETI RAID

Allegations that police officers entered Lasqueti Island homes without
search warrants will be the subject of an RCMP investigation, says Oceanside
Detachment commander Bill van Otterloo.

In an interview Friday, van Otterloo said he is deeply concerned about the
allegations of misconduct by police during the raids last weekend.

"There were a lot of allegations levelled at us, including allegations of
damage to property and incidences of officers going into homes without
warrants and of being on private property without warrants," he said. "We
are looking into those allegations and a formal investigation will be
carried out. We are taking them seriously."

He said the details of the investigation, slated to begin within the next
two weeks, have not been finalized, he noted the local detachment will not
be conducting the investigation themselves. Island resident Chris Bearchell
said she had witnessed two houses being broken into and entered by police
during the course of the raid.

"If the police are so concerned about the law, they should show some respect
for it," she said. "When you see them violating the law, it's hard to
believe other things they say."

Staff Sgt. van Otterloo attended the town hall meeting held on Lasqueti last
Wednesday night, and returned the next morning to look into some of the
complaints from the residents.

"I was on the island to deal with an allegation that a water line had been
damaged by our people," he said. "I paid for the damage on behalf of the
eradication team. I felt in good faith I could look after their needs and
hopefully make good."

Despite the hard feelings engendered by the weekend raid, Staff Sgt. van
Otterloo said he hopes the damage to the relationship between the police and
Lasqueti residents can be overcome.

"I'm taking assertive and positive steps to rebuild the bridge between us,"
he said. "The community itself is a safe community that has really not
required a lot of reactive policing on our part and I don't want Lasqueti to
be treated any differently from any other community."