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Botched Raid Battle Expected To End
Pubdate: Tue, 29 Nov 2005
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2005 Calgary Herald
Contact: http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Emma Poole
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)
BOTCHED RAID BATTLE EXPECTED TO END
A Calgary woman's five-year fight against several police officers who
bungled a drug raid at her rented southwest home is expected to come
to an end today.
Nancy Killian Constant has been battling with the police service
since the Sept. 11, 2000 incident, which saw officers with a warrant
burst into the home -- some with guns drawn. They failed to turn up any drugs.
Killian Constant is appealing through the Law Enforcement Review
Board -- a quasi-judicial body -- the handling of her complaint to
police about the incident. Final arguments are expected this morning.
"I want to know more about what happened. I want accountability,"
Killian Constant said Monday.
Several Calgary police officers testified at the hearing Monday they
expected to find a large marijuana grow operation inside the home on
Elbow Drive S.W.
"I was prepared for a long night. It was not the marijuana grow op it
was expected to be," said Const. Chris Griesbach, who was assigned to
collect exhibits from the home.
Griesbach recalled the faint smell of marijuana from the area near
the family's hot tub, and said he saw what he believed to be three
small marijuana plants.
The family denies the claim, and no drugs were seized from the home.
Staff Sgt. Carl DeSantis, who oversaw the warrant process on the
night in question, told the board police followed proper procedure
when they entered the home.
DeSantis said he did not draw his firearm and police were in and out
of the house in a matter of nine minutes.
"I left my business card and apologized on behalf of the police
service," he said of the moments after the incident.
DeSantis, who will face cross-examination today, said there was no
indication leading up to the raid that there would be children inside the home.
Killian Constant's four children, aged four to 12, and her
89-year-old grandmother were in the house at the time.
Her husband, Fernand, and the couple's lawyer were in the dining room
discussing legal matters.
Const. Wes Deley, who was the first officer to enter the home, said
he pulled his gun and ordered the residents to the ground.
"One of them said he was a lawyer and asked for a search warrant,"
said Deley, who also failed to turn up any drugs.
The officer at the heart of the complaint, Const. Ian Vernon,
testified last March he detected the odour of marijuana on a visit to
the home shortly before the bust, and was told by the landlord there
had been hydroponic equipment on the premises.
He also told the board that the home had high electricity use readings.
After an investigation into the botched raid, two front-line
constables, including Vernon, received minor reprimands for their mistakes.
The police service concluded the officers failed to do a
comprehensive and objective investigation into a dispute between the
family and the landlord just four days before the home was searched.
A decision in the case is expected to be rendered by the board at a later date.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman