420 Warrior
Well-Known Member
An Abbotsford police officer has been cleared in a misconduct complaint around a strip search of a suspected drug dealer in 2009.
Both the name of the female officer and complainant were blacked out of the decision issued by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
Two Abbotsford Police officers were transporting a prisoner to police cells the night of Aug. 15, 2009 when he told officers that the woman driving by in another vehicle was a drug dealer.
The car was stopped in the 32500 block of South Fraser Way and while officers checked the police computer they stated the complainant was wiggling around inside the car, as if she were hiding something in the car or on her person.
The officers, who had determined the woman was awaiting disposition on two counts each of drug trafficking and breach, also noticed the smell of burnt marijuana coming from the car.
The vehicle also was subject to a temporary operating permit that was to expire at midnight, about two hours later, that night.
The complainant's car was searched but no drugs were found. Officers told her she was to be strip-searched.
She was also advised that if any drugs were found she would be charged with drug possession.
At that point the officer involved offered to search the woman privately in the washroom of a nearby gas station rather than in police cells.
The offer to conduct the search at the station was made to save the woman from possibly returning to her car after the operating permit expired and the costs of towing the vehicle.
Following the search, which uncovered no drugs, the woman was released without charges and allowed to leave, although she was issued a citation to have her car inspected.
OPCC adjudicator William Diebolt said his job was to determine whether the officer had reasonable and probable grounds to conduct the strip search.
The case was complicated by the fact that the complaint was made almost 18 months after the event.
What's more, the officers failed to make notes, including the officer who conducted the search.
However, Diebolt felt the complainant, described by officers as "lippy and mouthy," had difficulty accurately recalling details of the event, and made some statements that appeared to be improbable.
Taking that into account, he gave more weight to statements provided by the officer.
"I am satisfied that the recollection of [the officer] considering all the evidence in this matter is preferred to that of [the complainant]," he said.
Information from the other prisoner, the pending drug charges, the smell of marijuana in the car and the complainant's behaviour were sufficient justification for the search, Diebolt concluded.
However, he did note the officer failed to provide a Charter warning to the complainant, about the reasons for her arrest and the right to a lawyer, and that had drugs been found, their admissibility as evidence would be questioned.
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC)
Author: Rochelle Baker
Contact: editorial@abbotsfordtimes.com
Copyright: 2012 The Abbotsford Times
Website: www.abbotsfordtimes.com
Both the name of the female officer and complainant were blacked out of the decision issued by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
Two Abbotsford Police officers were transporting a prisoner to police cells the night of Aug. 15, 2009 when he told officers that the woman driving by in another vehicle was a drug dealer.
The car was stopped in the 32500 block of South Fraser Way and while officers checked the police computer they stated the complainant was wiggling around inside the car, as if she were hiding something in the car or on her person.
The officers, who had determined the woman was awaiting disposition on two counts each of drug trafficking and breach, also noticed the smell of burnt marijuana coming from the car.
The vehicle also was subject to a temporary operating permit that was to expire at midnight, about two hours later, that night.
The complainant's car was searched but no drugs were found. Officers told her she was to be strip-searched.
She was also advised that if any drugs were found she would be charged with drug possession.
At that point the officer involved offered to search the woman privately in the washroom of a nearby gas station rather than in police cells.
The offer to conduct the search at the station was made to save the woman from possibly returning to her car after the operating permit expired and the costs of towing the vehicle.
Following the search, which uncovered no drugs, the woman was released without charges and allowed to leave, although she was issued a citation to have her car inspected.
OPCC adjudicator William Diebolt said his job was to determine whether the officer had reasonable and probable grounds to conduct the strip search.
The case was complicated by the fact that the complaint was made almost 18 months after the event.
What's more, the officers failed to make notes, including the officer who conducted the search.
However, Diebolt felt the complainant, described by officers as "lippy and mouthy," had difficulty accurately recalling details of the event, and made some statements that appeared to be improbable.
Taking that into account, he gave more weight to statements provided by the officer.
"I am satisfied that the recollection of [the officer] considering all the evidence in this matter is preferred to that of [the complainant]," he said.
Information from the other prisoner, the pending drug charges, the smell of marijuana in the car and the complainant's behaviour were sufficient justification for the search, Diebolt concluded.
However, he did note the officer failed to provide a Charter warning to the complainant, about the reasons for her arrest and the right to a lawyer, and that had drugs been found, their admissibility as evidence would be questioned.
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC)
Author: Rochelle Baker
Contact: editorial@abbotsfordtimes.com
Copyright: 2012 The Abbotsford Times
Website: www.abbotsfordtimes.com
