Pubdate: Fri, 02 Jan 2009
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Canwest News Service

'I'LL JUST NEVER SAY IT IS A LOSING BATTLE'

Excerpt Of Transcript Of Alberta Provincial Court
Judge Heather Lamoureux Questioning Calgary Police Detective Doug
Hudacin During The May, 07, Trial Of Philip Kaminsky, Found With Two
Grams Of Crack Cocaine In His Possession. Det. Hudacin Was Testifying
As A Calgary Police Drug Expert.

Judge: If this is such a difficult problem along 7th Avenue and the 
St. Louis and Cecil
Hotel and Olympic Plaza such that you cannot even walk down the 
street without getting
approached to buy drugs, how come it is not being stopped?

Det. Hudacin: That is not really a question I can answer.

Judge: What haven't they been able to stop?

Det. Hudacin: In my opinion, the bottom line is money. Not so much 
the money the police
service has or the government has, there's a lot of money to be made 
selling drugs.

Judge: How does that affect your desire as a police officer to stop it?

Det. Hudacin: It does not affect my desire to stop it, not in the 
least. What I am
saying is there is a lot of money to be made in the world of drug 
trafficking and
everyone wants to make money. So for everyone that gets arrested, for 
everyone that goes
to jail, there's going to be another one or two that's going to take 
their place to make
money.... If you could control the addiction aspects of it, there 
would be no demand for
it. But I don't think that is going to happen. I mean, again my 
opinion on it, through
time man has been addicted to one thing or another, whether it's, you 
know, drugs,
alcohol, gaming. I mean we have, you know, people have addictive personalities.

Judge: So it does not matter what we do, really? We are fighting a 
losing battle?

Det. Hudacin: No, I don't think it is a losing battle. I mean, I 
think it's just a --

Judge: Sure it is. What part of it do you think we are winning?

Det. Hudacin: Ma'am, you'll never get me to say it is a losing 
battle. It is a battle.

Judge: I am not here to make you say anything.

Det. Hudacin: It is a battle that is very hard to fight. It is a 
battle, where -- no,
I'll just never say it is a losing battle.
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MAP posted-by: Steve Heath