Posted on 10/26/2002 1:07:09 PM PDT by jodorowsky
'No reason' for botched raid: lawyer
Saturday, October 26, 2002
By KELLY PEDRO, Free Press Reporter
The lawyer for a London woman whose dog was shot and killed by police when they raided the wrong apartment is questioning the validity of their warrant.
"It doesn't appear to us that there was any reason for this to have occurred," said Faisal Joseph, the lawyer representing Marcie Carroll.
"We . . . want to find out what basis they had for the warrant and what investigation police had done before they started to kick in a door and discharge a firearm."
The warrant used to search for marijuana in Carroll's apartment Wednesday afternoon did not have the 22-year-old's name on it. It listed the name of a person who never lived in the Oxford Street apartment, east of Highbury Avenue.
A warrant signed by a judge or justice of the peace gives police the right to search a home. London police shot and killed Bear, Carroll's six-year-old German Shepherd and Lab cross, a shot she and Joseph say came from behind the dog.
Two of Bear's teeth were knocked out during the raid. Police Chief Brian Collins admitted police made a mistake. He has launched an internal investigation which he hopes to be complete within two weeks.
"Something went wrong in the (original) investigation," the chief said.
Thursday, Collins told The Free Press officers said Bear came at them when they entered the apartment and couldn't be subdued.
Joseph said that doesn't justify killing the animal. "I would expect to hear the dog attacked two to three officers. You don't draw a weapon unless it is absolutely necessary."
And Joseph says the evidence suggests the dog was running away from police when they shot him. Bear's dog tag was shredded, proof, Joseph said, the dog was shot from behind with the bullet exiting his chest and tearing through the tag.
"When you see the writing in the front of the dog tag you can see that it is clear that the bullet came from behind . . . that is consistent with the photographs we have," he said.
Joseph said depending on the results of the police investigation, his client may file a formal complaint and take civil action.
Collins said he expected the investigation to look into the "totality" of the matter. That would include a threat Carroll said police made to charge her for possession of a small jackknife they seized from her apartment.
Collins said, "I would imagine (the jackknife) is the least of the worries in this case at this time and that matter will be appropriately dealt with." Carroll said it was 24 hours before police apologized. That was Thursday when Insp. Kenneth Heslop, who is investigating the incident, came to speak with her.
He apologized profusely, she said.
But it's not enough for the London woman.
"It's not him I need to hear it from," she said. "I need an apology from everyone there, especially the man who shot (Bear)."
She also doesn't know if she can ever return to her home.
"I don't know how I can. It feels impossible."
I hope the victim makes a lot of money off the taxpayers suing these violent thugs.
Well said!
Damn, now jackknives are illegal in Canadian apartments?
They were probably just grasping at straws to scare her and make her into a criminal in whatever dried up, vestigial husk passes for a narc conscience.
Or maybe they've heard of pikes and they got scared!
The more it doesn't work, the more we must spend on it.
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