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Montrealer acquitted in shooting death of policeman
globeandmail.com ^ | 14 June, 2008 | TU THANH HA

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.


TOPICS: Canada; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist; canada; defense; donutwatch; jackbootedthugs; leo; noknockwarrant; officereown; police; wod
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It appears that there is still some jury rights in Canada. It is a tragedy that the officer was killed and others wounded, but the power of the State must be kept in check.
1 posted on 06/16/2008 6:41:23 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

Good news, but expect the FR boot-licker brigade to show up shortly.


2 posted on 06/16/2008 6:46:10 PM PDT by Ron Jeremy (sonic)
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To: marktwain

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.


3 posted on 06/16/2008 6:51:49 PM PDT by Dumpster Baby (Real men drink mercury)
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To: marktwain

Very sad. But you’re correct.


4 posted on 06/16/2008 6:54:10 PM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (Islam: Imagine a clown car.........with guns.)
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To: marktwain

This could be huge.


5 posted on 06/16/2008 6:55:40 PM PDT by wastedyears (Like a bat outta Hell.)
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To: marktwain

Sounds worse than Keystone Cops.

Bumbling idiots come to mind.

Curiously, nothing to indicate whether the homeowner really was an innocent party.


6 posted on 06/16/2008 7:06:31 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Be careful! Communist ideas may give you brain cancer.)
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: marktwain
The verdict was the latest slap in this case for the Laval police.

Would that be the Pierre Laval police?

----

Send treats to the troops...
Great because you did it!
www.AnySoldier.com

8 posted on 06/16/2008 7:09:05 PM PDT by JCG
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To: marktwain

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.


9 posted on 06/16/2008 7:12:10 PM PDT by CatherinePPP
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To: VeniVidiVici
“Curiously, nothing to indicate whether the homeowner really was an innocent party.”

Well, er, other than the fact that the warrant was based on bad information, the warrant was improperly served, no drugs were found, and the homeowner managed to meet all the draconian requirements for registration of handguns in Canada, no real indication.
10 posted on 06/16/2008 7:12:21 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: Ron Jeremy
Good news, but expect the FR boot-licker brigade to show up shortly.

People who reflexively take the side of the cops on every thread are idiots...just like the people who oppose them on every thread.

11 posted on 06/16/2008 7:15:02 PM PDT by Onelifetogive (I know I left the sarcasm tag off. I get far more replies without it.)
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To: VeniVidiVici

“Curiously, nothing to indicate whether the homeowner really was an innocent party.”


Other than those things already mentioned, the jury verdict would come to mind.


12 posted on 06/16/2008 7:15:04 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

LOL. Well put.


13 posted on 06/16/2008 7:16:05 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (<===Non-bitter, Gun-totin', Typical White American)
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To: marktwain
Why was the home owner indited in the first place?

Were the remaining bumbling police officers indited and put on trial as well?

14 posted on 06/16/2008 7:19:44 PM PDT by Tolkien (Another day, another 1.603 million miles around the sun.)
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To: marktwain

I’ve never understood the justification of no-knock raids for drugs. Far too many of them go south.


15 posted on 06/16/2008 7:22:16 PM PDT by umgud
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To: marktwain

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/


16 posted on 06/16/2008 7:34:27 PM PDT by B4Ranch (Having custody of a loaded weapon does not arm you. The skill to use the weapon is what arms a man.)
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To: B4Ranch
“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.”


I wondered about that. I believe it is against the law in all of Canada. They are trying to follow the “English example”, by making self defense essentially illegal with firearms. Once you do that, it is a very slippery slope to making almost all firearms illegal. “Sport” just doesn’t carry any water against mothers crying about their 17 year old “gangbanger” baby being shot.
17 posted on 06/16/2008 7:41:22 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: Ron Jeremy

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.


18 posted on 06/16/2008 7:44:03 PM PDT by JLS
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To: marktwain

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.


19 posted on 06/16/2008 7:49:54 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: marktwain
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.

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.

20 posted on 06/16/2008 7:51:51 PM PDT by 2111USMC
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