MAN WANTS COPS TO FIX DAMAGE FROM SEARCH

A Perth Street man is complaining that city police are refusing to fix the
damage they caused when, armed with a search warrant, they burst into his
home looking for drugs Tuesday night.

As of Friday, Scott Brown, 29, hasn't been charged with anything.

Brown says there was a loud knock on his door Tuesday night after he and
his wife, Martha Shaw, 28, had put their two daughters to bed.

Four officers broke down the front and back doors, he said. They searched
the house and led a sniffer dog through the rooms. They repeatedly asked
where the drugs, scales and cash - evidence of drug-dealing - were kept.

Their daughters, age six and seven, were terrified.

Brown says that police left with a gram of marijuana and a shotgun that was
legally owned by his late father-in-law but not registered by his wife.

He wants an apology and the damage repaired. Damage visible Wednesday
included a splintered frame and the evidence of a battering ram at the
front door and broken hinges at the rear.

"They found nothing, destroyed our home, made our kids cry," Brown said.
"No one was ever charged with anything. Now they're refusing to fix it."

Brown admits to smoking pot but denies dealing drugs.

"It's not against the law to smoke marijuana - we buy a gram or two for
ourselves," Brown said.

Detective-Sergeant Scott Fraser was one of the officers who conducted the
search with investigating officer Detective-Constable Mark Noonan. The
search was part of Project Islander, a joint project by OPP and city police
targeting street level drug trafficking in the area.

Fraser confirmed that a firearm and small quantity of marijuana was seized.
Charges of unsafe storage of a firearm are pending, he said. The
investigation isn't complete and drug-related charges are "possible."

"It wasn't dramatic," Fraser said of the search. "Of course the person is
upset - that happens when you raid homes.

"We're quite satisfied. Getting a firearm off the streets is good for us.
.. We try to get larger amounts (of drugs). It's not the first time there
are small quantities."

Knocking through doors is standard procedure in a search, Fraser said.
Officers don't wait for the door to be opened for them because it could
give a suspect a chance to destroy evidence or pick up a weapon. A surprise
entry is safer for everyone involved.

Police won't pay for damage done in the course of a search.

"When you're in the business of executing search warrants, sometimes door
frames get injured," Fraser said. "They can come up and request it - it's a
request I would deny."

If the subject of a search is unhappy with damage, he can sue.

"That's an option that's certainly available to them," Fraser said.

Local criminal lawyer Peter Adams isn't representing Brown but says his
complaint is a common one.

"It happens all the time," he said. "We routinely refer them to civil
counsel to sue.

"The police don't have any unfettered right to destroy private property.
Their only authorization is to search. If they can't to it properly, they
should be accountable."

If police damage property during a search and come up empty, a civil court
would likely find them liable for the damage, he said. It's a grey area if
they do find evidence of wrongdoing.

For a search warrant to be issued, police need to have strong grounds, he
said. Searches of a suspect's home have been tested by the courts in light
of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"They need reasonable grounds to convince a justice something unlawful is
taking place at that location," Adams said. "The court and Parliament has
recognized a person's home, in particular, is his castle.

"But that gives them the right to search - not destroy."