Posted on 06/16/2008 6:41:23 PM PDT by marktwain
Awakened before dawn by police officers who battered down the door to his home, Basil Parasiris said he acted in self-defence when he shot at a stranger at his bedroom door.
A jury agreed yesterday, acquitting the Montreal-area businessman of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Constable Daniel Tessier, a father of two.
The verdict was the latest slap in this case for the Laval police. The trial had revealed that the force's search warrant relied on dubious evidence and didn't allow a night-time raid; that officers didn't properly check whether Mr. Parasiris owned guns; and that they fired by mistake into a child's bedroom.
The jurors agreed with Mr. Parasiris's defence that he thought he was the victim of a home invasion.
Jurors weren't even told that the judge, Mr. Justice Guy Cournoyer of Quebec Superior Court, had invalidated the search warrant the officers were using.
Mr. Parasiris was targeted in a police probe into cocaine trafficking. But Judge Cournoyer ruled that the police failed to prove he had drugs in his home and weren't justified in using force to enter.
The court was told that police didn't know Mr. Parasiris had a registered gun. The officers didn't check his name in the firearms registry, only the address. However, he had failed to report that he had moved.
About 5 a.m. on March 2, 2007, nine Laval officers used a battering ram to enter Mr. Parasiris's home in the Montreal suburb of Brossard.
Constable Serge Lauzon, the first officer to enter the house, headed for the wrong bedroom, so it was Constable Tessier who went to the master bedroom.
Awakened by the noise, Mr. Parasiris grabbed a Ruger .357 magnum revolver, one of three guns he kept in his closet.
He testified that he fired after seeing "this big man all dressed in black and a white face" at the door.
Three shots hit Constable Tessier, killing him. The last shot struck another constable in the arm.
Jurors heard that Constable Lauzon and Constable François Leblanc mistakenly thought the shots had come from a door in front of them, so they fired 10 shots at the bedroom of Mr. Parasiris's 15-year-old son.
While backing up, Constable Lauzon bumped into Detective-Sergeant Nathalie Allard as she fired at the master bedroom.
One of her shots struck Constable Tessier as he lay dying; another wounded Mr. Parasiris' wife, Penny Gounis, in an arm.
There were also questions about Constable Tessier's appearance. He was dressed in black and the word "police" on his bulletproof vest was obscured by a flap, the jury was told.
The Crown said the slain officer wore a baseball cap with a police logo on it. But the defence noted that the ambulance drivers didn't see that cap. Instead, a black tuque was found at the scene.
Good news, but expect the FR boot-licker brigade to show up shortly.
On TV they are always seen yelling “police! search warrant! police! search warrant!” at the top of their lungs. In these no-knock raids that go bad there never seems to be a mention that they yelled anything to identify themselves. Curious.
Very sad. But you’re correct.
This could be huge.
Sounds worse than Keystone Cops.
Bumbling idiots come to mind.
Curiously, nothing to indicate whether the homeowner really was an innocent party.
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Send treats to the troops...
Great because you did it!
www.AnySoldier.com
I agree, this was a tragedy and I’m sorry for the family of this police officer, who was probably genuinely trying to do his job. But the man had a right to protect his home and family. It sounds like he very obviously was not out to kill policemen but was defending his home from an unknown stranger. The court got this one right.
People who reflexively take the side of the cops on every thread are idiots...just like the people who oppose them on every thread.
“Curiously, nothing to indicate whether the homeowner really was an innocent party.”
LOL. Well put.
Were the remaining bumbling police officers indited and put on trial as well?
I’ve never understood the justification of no-knock raids for drugs. Far too many of them go south.
Basil Parasiris is now being charged with unlawfully having a couple of sidearms stored at his residence that had not been registered for storage at that address.
Then there’s another charge that has something to do with improperly storing the .357 that he used to defend his family with. I think, having it loaded may be against the law in Quebec.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080613.wacquit14/BNStory/National/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080613.wlaval13/BNStory/National/
Then there’s another charge that has something to do with improperly storing the .357 that he used to defend his family with. I think, having it loaded may be against the law in Quebec.”
I certainly agree this is good news. Better news would be the rest of that gang of law breakers being prosecuted for breaking in to an occupied dwelling while armed and firing into a child’s bedroom.
It sounds like a total screw-up from start to finish. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
The police officer who was killed was not to blame—he was following orders and had no way of knowing that the raid was not legal. But whoever organized this operation deserves to be fired, IMHO.
I'm glad the jury got it right, but WTF?
You would thing a little tidbit like that would be pretty damned important for a jury to know.
“The police officer who was killed was not to blame—he was following orders and had no way of knowing that the raid was not legal. But whoever organized this operation deserves to be fired, IMHO.”
The jury was not there to determine the legality of the warrant. Their duty was to determine if the shooting was murder or self defense.
“On TV they are always seen yelling “police! search warrant! police! search warrant!” at the top of their lungs. In these no-knock raids that go bad there never seems to be a mention that they yelled anything to identify themselves. Curious.”
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It almost makes you think that the article was written by a reporter who didn’t want to tell all the facts. But that could never happen in a Socialist Utopia like Canada, could it?
I’m usually willing to give the police a little leeway but that doesn’t mean they don’t have to follow the rules. They screwed up this case and it ended up costing an officer his life. I probably would have shot them too if they stormed my house like that.
First-degree murder??? What about this shooting was pre-meditated? Sounds like the prosecutor/cops went too far in charging the man.
Forcible entry of an occupied residence, especially when the occupants are expected to be sleeping, should be a capital crime anywhere on earth, regardless who the perpetrator is, what he/she is wearing, or what papers he/she is carrying.
The occupants are naturally correct to assume the invader has deadly intentions. A civilized society would be naturally correct to judge the death of such an invader a suicide, or the death of any such occupant a premeditated murder.
Actually under the Felony Murder Rule, all surviving Police Officers Should be Charged with First Degree Murder, after the warrant wasnt valid, and they broke in to this house Armed. Felony Armed Robbery and Felony Murder Applies to all accomplices.
Eyeamok
“Too bad for the officer’s family.
Forcible entry of an occupied residence, especially when the occupants are expected to be sleeping, should be a capital crime anywhere on earth, regardless who the perpetrator is, what he/she is wearing, or what papers he/she is carrying.
The occupants are naturally correct to assume the invader has deadly intentions. A civilized society would be naturally correct to judge the death of such an invader a suicide, or the death of any such occupant a premeditated murder.”
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With you on that. Too much danger of loss of life to justify such an attack, not to mention, as in this case, substandard procedures leading to an illegal nighttime dynamic entry. Absolutely nuts.
As everyone else I feel terrible for the family of the officer as well as the officer himself.
One thing that worries me is Quebec’s nasty reaction whenever the prosecution looses. APPEAL..., and worse than that,someone grants the right to appeal. I would not want to be Mr. Parasiris as I’ll also bet dollars to donuts the Laval & Montreal police will be all over him like a dog on a bone
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