The Vancouver Sun newspaper this morning had an editorial castigating the police during a drug raid in part for wearing masks, noting that they denote ill- intent in our culture. As in outlaws and terrorists. I totally agree. But Halloween is a different story of course.
Troubling questions raised by RCMP's botched raid
Troubling questions raised by RCMP's botched raid
Vancouver Sun May 6, 2009
The RCMP have apologized for bursting through the door of the wrong Surrey apartment and assaulting the occupants with a police dog, but the matter must not end there.
Even if they had the right apartment, the tactics described by the three occupants raise questions about the use of force and conduct of police that cannot be left unanswered.
Police concede that they made a mistake and that two men were bitten in the botched raid.
The three occupants of the Surrey apartment allege in a filing to the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP that they were getting ready for a late dinner when the police banged on the door and demanded that the occupants of apartment 206 come out.
They were in 205. The police broke in. The three men inside got a glimpse of RCMP Emergency Response Team officers dressed in black with their faces covered with balaclavas and a police dog rushing in.
The police were executing a warrant on neighboring apartments, where, once they opened the right doors, they found crack cocaine, heroin, a Taser, and other assorted weapons.
Police raids are always fraught with danger. They get as much information as they can about what they can expect to encounter but they never know exactly what they will face when they go through a door.
Whether on rural roads or inner cities, police officers have been shot, attacked and killed often enough to prove that the wearing of body armour is no affectation.
Four RCMP officers were killed in rural Mayerthorpe, Alta., four years ago, in the worst such incident in recent memory. They have to be ready to use sufficient force to apprehend suspects, protect themselves and the public.
But just as they can't be sure what lies behind any closed door, neither can they know for sure that the suspects they are apprehending are guilty of any crimes.
In our justice system, that determination is left to the courts, as is the determination of what punishment is justified.
What that means is that even when they are breaking down the right door, police have to bear in mind that they are still dealing with members of the public whose interests they have sworn to protect.
This case raises troubling questions about how the RCMP are now interpreting that duty.
When did it become acceptable practice for our police to hide their identity when making an arrest or dealing with the public in any fashion?
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In our culture, masks are associated with ill-intent. They are used to terrorize victims or to shield the identity of outlaws. They should not be worn by police.
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Police dogs, like Tasers, are an important tool for law enforcement officers. But they should never be used to terrorize suspects or to bring a hasty conclusion to a situation that a little patience could just as easily resolve.
We need a clear statement from police on both the policy on use of dogs and the use of balaclavas or other masks used to conceal the identity of individual officers.
We recognize that police have been under a lot of pressure to deal with gang violence in the Lower Mainland. But we can't allow a fear of lawlessness to be replaced by a fear of the law.
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