Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
After nearly eight years, the longest running complaint against the Calgary Police Service has ended with a rare public apology from the chief to a family who was the victim of a botched drug raid.
In a reconciliation of sorts, Nancy Killian Constant and her husband Fernand have agreed to withdraw their ongoing complaints with the Calgary Police Commission and Law Enforcement Review Board, while also settling their civil lawsuit over the search warrant gone wrong.
The family's persistence and refusal to drop the case led to mounting legal costs for both sides, but resulted in significant changes in how the police department obtains search warrants and put the spotlight on how allegations of police misconduct are handled.
"We apologize to the Killian Constant family for all the trauma and grief that came upon them as a result of a search warrant," police Chief Rick Hanson said Tuesday in a dramatic turnaround from his predecessor, who vigorously defended the department and its officers.
"We made a mistake. We've put a lot of work into identifying and fixing the problems. . . . It shouldn't have happened."
Neither side could speak about the terms of an out-of-court settlement, but both agreed it was a satisfactory resolution and said it's time to move on.
"The last eight years have been extremely difficult," said Nancy Killian Constant, whose complaint became a lightning rod for changes in how allegations of misconduct are handled.
"The initial event had a huge impact on every aspect of our lives, right from our personal lives to our business.
"It's a huge weight lifted.
"Today, I'm inspired and impressed with the Calgary Police Service."
It was a quiet evening in September 2000 when Nancy Killian Constant opened her door and came face-to-face with a police officer pointing a gun at her head.
The door, she later complained to police, was violently jerked from her grip.
The woman was forced backward into the home, where her husband, 89-year-old grandmother and family lawyer were sitting.
Several other officers stormed past her and began a search, the commotion waking her 12-year-old son upstairs, whom she alleged was ordered to the floor at gunpoint when he emerged from his room.
With the couple's other three small children asleep in their beds, the officers proceeded to search the home for evidence of a marijuana grow operation. Problem was, there wasn't one. And the information that police used to obtain the search warrant turned out to be false, the source of it a landlord with whom the family had been feuding.
The family lodged a complaint. After two years, they received a letter from then police chief Jack Beaton, acknowledging mistakes were made. At least one officer received a minor reprimand, and Beaton said he was sorry in writing, but Nancy Killian Constant wanted more.
She took her case to the Law Enforcement Review Board, the police commission and even took on Beaton, alleging he didn't properly investigate the case.
For his part, Beaton maintained the officers weren't negligent, defending himself and the service.
At one point during the family's legal odyssey, the Law Enforcement Review Board -- where citizens can take their complaints if unhappy with how the police or its oversight body have dealt with them -- ordered the couple to pay $5,000 to cover part of the police department's legal bill.
The ruling, which called the couple's efforts vexatious and frivolous, came despite the surfacing of an internal police memo that suggested the grounds used to obtain the search warrant on the family's home were based on notes altered by an officer.
Hanson said he couldn't speak to how the complaint was dealt with in the past, but said he's pleased to have been able to resolve it.
It's important, he added, for the service to admit when it has made a mistake.
"We have a quarter of a million dispatched calls a year and an equal number of contacts with individuals
. . . so in the vast majority of cases, our officers act appropriately. Unfortunately, mistakes happen," he said.
"I would hope that people recognize how complex the job is and . . . that each and every day our officers strive to be professional, but that even in the execution of their duties, that mistakes happen."
Many policy changes have been made as a result of the lengthy dispute, including a more rigorous process for obtaining search warrants, he said. Officers are no longer allowed to rely on information from a single source, and an expert drug squad now handles marijuana grow op investigations.
Nancy Killian Constant said she fought for eight years so other innocent families wouldn't experience the terror of a mistaken police raid and to ensure accountability when things go awry.
"The public needs to feel comfortable with the police and that they are doing their job in the manner they should be. When they're not, situations like this become important because this is the only means we have to curtail activity that is not favourable by police, whatever that may look like," she said, adding that her now grown son still mistrusts the police.
Calgary police commission chairman Denis Painchaud said the Killian Constant case also highlighted the need for better public oversight of the police.
"Obviously, you have to give a lot of credit to Miss Constant and their family. They were persistent, courageous and diligent," he said. "It was frustrating for us, but hats off to her for staying with it because, at the end, everybody learned from this."
After eight years, Nancy Killian Constant and her husband Fernand have settled with Calgary police over a raid in which officers stormed into their home with guns drawn, searching for drugs based on false information from a landlord.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Canada.com
Copyright: 2008 Canwest Digital Media
Contact: About | canada.com
Website: Police chief apologizes to family for botched raid
In a reconciliation of sorts, Nancy Killian Constant and her husband Fernand have agreed to withdraw their ongoing complaints with the Calgary Police Commission and Law Enforcement Review Board, while also settling their civil lawsuit over the search warrant gone wrong.
The family's persistence and refusal to drop the case led to mounting legal costs for both sides, but resulted in significant changes in how the police department obtains search warrants and put the spotlight on how allegations of police misconduct are handled.
"We apologize to the Killian Constant family for all the trauma and grief that came upon them as a result of a search warrant," police Chief Rick Hanson said Tuesday in a dramatic turnaround from his predecessor, who vigorously defended the department and its officers.
"We made a mistake. We've put a lot of work into identifying and fixing the problems. . . . It shouldn't have happened."
Neither side could speak about the terms of an out-of-court settlement, but both agreed it was a satisfactory resolution and said it's time to move on.
"The last eight years have been extremely difficult," said Nancy Killian Constant, whose complaint became a lightning rod for changes in how allegations of misconduct are handled.
"The initial event had a huge impact on every aspect of our lives, right from our personal lives to our business.
"It's a huge weight lifted.
"Today, I'm inspired and impressed with the Calgary Police Service."
It was a quiet evening in September 2000 when Nancy Killian Constant opened her door and came face-to-face with a police officer pointing a gun at her head.
The door, she later complained to police, was violently jerked from her grip.
The woman was forced backward into the home, where her husband, 89-year-old grandmother and family lawyer were sitting.
Several other officers stormed past her and began a search, the commotion waking her 12-year-old son upstairs, whom she alleged was ordered to the floor at gunpoint when he emerged from his room.
With the couple's other three small children asleep in their beds, the officers proceeded to search the home for evidence of a marijuana grow operation. Problem was, there wasn't one. And the information that police used to obtain the search warrant turned out to be false, the source of it a landlord with whom the family had been feuding.
The family lodged a complaint. After two years, they received a letter from then police chief Jack Beaton, acknowledging mistakes were made. At least one officer received a minor reprimand, and Beaton said he was sorry in writing, but Nancy Killian Constant wanted more.
She took her case to the Law Enforcement Review Board, the police commission and even took on Beaton, alleging he didn't properly investigate the case.
For his part, Beaton maintained the officers weren't negligent, defending himself and the service.
At one point during the family's legal odyssey, the Law Enforcement Review Board -- where citizens can take their complaints if unhappy with how the police or its oversight body have dealt with them -- ordered the couple to pay $5,000 to cover part of the police department's legal bill.
The ruling, which called the couple's efforts vexatious and frivolous, came despite the surfacing of an internal police memo that suggested the grounds used to obtain the search warrant on the family's home were based on notes altered by an officer.
Hanson said he couldn't speak to how the complaint was dealt with in the past, but said he's pleased to have been able to resolve it.
It's important, he added, for the service to admit when it has made a mistake.
"We have a quarter of a million dispatched calls a year and an equal number of contacts with individuals
. . . so in the vast majority of cases, our officers act appropriately. Unfortunately, mistakes happen," he said.
"I would hope that people recognize how complex the job is and . . . that each and every day our officers strive to be professional, but that even in the execution of their duties, that mistakes happen."
Many policy changes have been made as a result of the lengthy dispute, including a more rigorous process for obtaining search warrants, he said. Officers are no longer allowed to rely on information from a single source, and an expert drug squad now handles marijuana grow op investigations.
Nancy Killian Constant said she fought for eight years so other innocent families wouldn't experience the terror of a mistaken police raid and to ensure accountability when things go awry.
"The public needs to feel comfortable with the police and that they are doing their job in the manner they should be. When they're not, situations like this become important because this is the only means we have to curtail activity that is not favourable by police, whatever that may look like," she said, adding that her now grown son still mistrusts the police.
Calgary police commission chairman Denis Painchaud said the Killian Constant case also highlighted the need for better public oversight of the police.
"Obviously, you have to give a lot of credit to Miss Constant and their family. They were persistent, courageous and diligent," he said. "It was frustrating for us, but hats off to her for staying with it because, at the end, everybody learned from this."
After eight years, Nancy Killian Constant and her husband Fernand have settled with Calgary police over a raid in which officers stormed into their home with guns drawn, searching for drugs based on false information from a landlord.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Canada.com
Copyright: 2008 Canwest Digital Media
Contact: About | canada.com
Website: Police chief apologizes to family for botched raid
