Pubdate: Fri, 30 May 2008
Source: Oak Bay News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 Oak Bay News
Contact:  http://www.oakbaynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1346
Author: Patrick Blennerhassett
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

POLICING THE POLICE A FINE LINE

Two weeks ago police raided a suspected meth lab in Saanich, although 
as everyone knows by now, they barged into a quiet family residence 
housing no drug operation whatsoever.

Police were working on a tip from a previously reliable informant 
that the Regina Avenue home was a drug house. The Cushing family 
probably has a very different view of cops now, as the Greater 
Victoria Emergency Response Team forcefully entered their home with 
weapons drawn and dragged them in for further questioning.

I don't envy police officers or the policing system one bit.

Members of the public who believe there are too many cops writing 
tickets and hassling everyday citizens send up cries of 'police 
state' and claim we have Big Brother-style watchdogging. Those who 
argue we have too few police around throw their hands up wondering 
where the police are hiding whenever crimes are being committed in their area.

Whenever we're pulled over for a minor driving infraction, such as 
speeding or neglecting to signal, most of us think to ourselves, 
'Don't these cops have anything better to do?' or 'Why aren't they 
out chasing the real criminals?' However, the last time my car got 
broken into, CD player ripped out in a furious mess, I would've been 
more than happy to have a cop car pull up on me.

There's a slippery slope within a democratic society's policing that 
can slide into police-state territory unless constantly monitored. 
Some say the police had no right whatsoever to barge into the Cushing 
home unless they were 100 per cent sure there was illegal activity 
going on. But the cops should be allowed to carry out search warrants 
on homes where suspected illegal activity is taking place.

It's easy to forgive or turn a blind eye when it wasn't your personal 
space that was violated, unlike Willow Kinloch's parents, whose 
daughter was allegedly abused while in the custody of the Victoria 
police. In a free and democratic society, we really don't appreciate 
freedom until it's taken away from us personally, or violently rammed 
down with a battering ram.

Human error means policing isn't perfect, and sometimes the mistakes 
cops make in the line of duty end up costing innocent people their 
lives. Robert Dziekanski, who died at Vancouver International Airport 
last year after being Tasered at least twice and pinned down, will 
forever be known as a victim of excessive police force.

The fact the Regina Avenue incident only resulted in embarrassment 
for the Saanich police and a frightening scare for the Cushings does 
say something about where we're at in terms of policing in this 
region and B.C. in general.

In 2006 in Atlanta, plain-clothed police officers - similar to those 
who raided the Cushing house - burst into an elderly woman's home on 
an informant's tip that it was a drug dealer's house. Kathryn 
Johnston thought the cops were criminals trying to rob her and fired 
a bullet into the ceiling as a warning shot. She was killed by the 
cops, who fired 39 bullets in her direction and hit her with six.

The informant, threatened with jail time unless he tipped off police 
to a suspected drug house in the area, pointed to a house that turned 
out to be that of Johnston, a church-going, tax-paying, law-abiding widow.

Alone at home that night, she heard someone outside prying off the 
burglar bars on her window, after which the cops entered with a 
'no-knock' warrant and all hell broke loose.

Earlier that day, the Atlanta police decided against sending an 
undercover officer to try and purchase drugs from the house, and 
afterward tried to cover up the tragic mistake by claiming they had, 
in fact, bought drugs from the home.

In Victoria, the Cushings were so shocked they had no idea what was 
going on. They thought they were being robbed, but obviously Victoria 
is different from Atlanta and they weren't reaching for guns for 
protection. Luckily this error in police judgement simply becomes 
another lesson learned rather than a tragic day in the line of duty.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom