Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jul 2012
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Keith Fraser

JUDGE'S RULING CHALLENGED

Cop Who Searched Suspect at Gas Bar Shouldn't Be Cleared

Police complaint commissioner Stan Lowe is seeking to quash a 
decision by a retired judge to clear an Abbotsford cop of wrongdoing 
in the strip search of a female suspect in a gas station washroom.

In December, retired Provincial Court judge William Diebolt concluded 
Const. Karen Burridge was acting in good faith in her strip search of 
Jocelyn Gowland.

The decision related to an incident in August 2009 when Burridge and 
another officer were moving a prisoner from hospital to police cells.

The prisoner told the cops that he recognized Gowland as being a drug 
dealer, resulting in the police pulling over Gowland on South Fraser 
Way, near a PetroCan station.

Burridge and two other cops noticed the odour of marijuana coming 
from Gowland's vehicle and ran a search on her in the police 
computer, finding that she was awaiting trial on trafficking charges.

They searched her vehicle and found no drugs. Burridge told Gowland 
she would have to undergo a strip search.

Burridge claimed that Gowland replied, 'Go ahead, you won't find 
anything.' Gowland claimed that she did not consent to the search.

The strip search was conducted in the PetroCan washroom with only 
Gowland and Burridge present.

No drugs were found, no charges laid and Gowland was allowed to leave.

Gowland filed a complaint in February 2011 and an Abbotsford police 
review concluded that Gowland's rights were violated but that there 
was no misconduct by police. But Lowe appointed Diebolt to conduct 
another review.

In his report, Diebolt questioned Gowland's credibility and said the 
strip search was conducted in an appropriate manner.

But in a petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Lowe said Diebolt 
erred in applying the law when he held that Burridge had reasonable 
and probable grounds to conduct the search, and when he applied the 
doctrine of good faith in the decision to conduct the strip search.
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