NEXT TIME, TRY KNOCKING LOUDER

We can only imagine the sheer, visceral terror that must have gripped
two Cambridge women who were at home going about their business this
week when nearly 10 people suddenly burst through the door. One moment
Fung Han Ng was having breakfast while her 83-year-old mother was
getting dressed. A split second later there was a crash, the front
door had been forced open and strangers were rushing in, yelling as
they came.

The intruders, as it turned out, were police who had come to the house
with an authorized search warrant hoping to find and close down one of
Waterloo Region's notorious home-grow marijuana operations. But in
this case the officers found nothing more than a house with two very
alarmed, very frightened women whose understandable agitation was the
direct result of the police action.

Ng was told she was under arrest, after an officer grabbed her hands
and put them behind her back. Not so long after that, Ng was on the
receiving end of a richly deserved police apology.

That speedy official response, as well as a commitment to pay for the
damaged door, was entirely appropriate on the part of Waterloo
regional police. But we hope the matter doesn't end here because we
agree with Shiu Ng, who returned from work to find that his home had
been broken into by the officers. "This," he said, "is a violation."
It was just that.

The police, to be sure, were doing their job in investigating this
house. They had been told by an official from Cambridge and North
Dumfries Hydro there was something suspicious about the Ngs' hydro
meter readings and hydro bills. Home-grow operations typically bypass
meters and steal electricity to grow marijuana in what can be a
hazardous way. Our local police should be cracking down on this
activity. And in the case of the raid on the Ngs, the police had the
judicial authority to enter the home.

Where they erred was not in going to a home where there was no
marijuana but in the disturbing way they entered this home. The police
say they did knock and identify themselves. Only when there was no
response did they crash through the door.

Yet the facts suggest they acted rashly and precipitously. Breaking
down a door while executing a search warrant could be justified if the
police feared evidence was being destroyed, if they thought they faced
physical danger and wanted to surprise someone who might be armed or
even if they believed they had to act quickly to protect someone
inside who was in peril.

But even if this had been a home-grow operation, it would take longer
than a few minutes to destroy marijuana plants and growing equipment.
And there was no sign whatsoever that a serious crime that needed to
be dealt with immediately was going on. So we think the police were
not justified in behaving as they did.

Police, we concede, have a tough job filled with stress and danger.
One day they can be criticized for doing too little. The next day they
are dumped on for doing too much. We acknowledge all this, as well as
the fact that such unwarranted police break-ins are rare. But we have
to conclude that the police unintentionally and in the end quite
needlessly scared the bejeepers out of two innocent women. The police
should take a careful look at the mistake they made in Cambridge and
review their policies to ensure it is not repeated. They have earned
the trust of law-abiding members of this community and it is important
that they keep it.