COPS ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Rattled homeowner: 'I don't want my privacy
to be invaded just because I misdial a number'
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
When Marget Lieder accidentally dialed 9-1-1, while meaning to dial 4-1-1 for information, she thought nothing of simply hanging up and dialing again – but that was before a group of officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police broke down her door and arrested her and her partner.
On the evening of Oct. 25, Lieder, who lives in North Vancouver, B.C., was drinking wine with her partner, Larry Pierce, and a house guest when she misdialed the information number and reached emergency services instead. After immediately hanging up the phone, the police called her back to say that 2 officers were being sent to her home to confirm that she was not in danger. They would, she was told, search her house when they arrived.
"I don't want my privacy to be invaded just because I misdial a number," she explained to the officer on the telephone.
Lieder refused to allow the officers who arrived into her home, speaking to them only on the porch from where they could see "the peaceful atmosphere" in her living room.
"They didn't have a search warrant and they didn't have anything to do in my house," she told the North Shore News.
Assuring the two officers nothing was amiss, Lieder returned inside and her guest left shortly afterwards.
The Mounties, reinforced by three more officers, insisted on inspecting Lieder's home and when she did not open the door for them, they broke it down and arrested her and Pierce for obstruction of justice.
While Lieder wasn't injured, Pierce was not so lucky.
"I was sitting on the couch. They stuck a Taser in my face, threatening me with 50,000 volts," he said. "They threw me on the floor, twisted my left arm. A police officer stuck his knee into my ribs and jumped on me."
According to Pierce, two of his ribs were cracked.
Officers began recording them immediately, even though they had not been read their rights, the pair said. Pierce was interrogated for over an hour at the jail.
The couple were taken to North Vancouver provincial court the day after their arrest but were released before being called before a judge.
"They arrested me in slippers and a T-shirt," said Pierce. "After Crown counsel told them to let me go, they just shoved me out in the rain. I had 43 cents in my pocket."
Pierce, who is a well-known Vancouver lawyer has said the couple plan to sue and have asked authorities to preserve all tapes and records associated with the case.
"The list is pretty long for what we can sue them for," he said, referring specifically to false arrest, false imprisonment, trespass and assault.
Const. John MacAdam, a spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP, said he could not comment on the incident but defended the practice of searching homes after a 9-1-1 caller hangs up the phone, noting that it is common for a spousal abuse victim to say nothing is wrong after police respond to a call.
"When a 9-1-1 call has been placed, whether or not it is mistaken, we have the right to attend that residence and to search that residence to make sure that the safety of everyone is confirmed," MacAdam said, citing a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada ruling. "In most cases people are going to understand our job and why we are in the residence. They understand that we have to have a quick look."
The court ruling said police have authority to investigate 9-1-1 calls, but their right to enter callers' homes depends on the situation and can only be for the purpose of protecting life and safety.
Pierce is not convinced.
"If that's the way they are going to make everyone safe, the jails will be full," he said.
http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20061123114318803 Thursday, November 23 2006 @ 01:43 PM MST
The Police State keeps us safe.
Contributed by: Chris Harder
By: Joanna Habdank, North Shore News
Published: Wednesday, November 22, 2006
NORTH VANCOUVER - A North Vancouver couple has complained to District of North Vancouver council and said they will sue the North Vancouver RCMP after officers responded to their hang-up 911 call by breaking down their door, making a forceful arrest and jailing them overnight when the couple refused to allow a house-search.
The RCMP said, however, that in this case, federal policy commands a home-check, designed to ensure public safety.
North Vancouver resident Marget Lieder said that in the early evening of Oct. 25 she was having wine with her partner and a guest when she misdialed the emergency number, meaning to call 411 instead. After promptly hanging up, the police contacted her, saying two officers were dispatched and warned her her home would be searched to confirm she wasn't in danger.
"I was sitting on the couch. They stuck a Taser in my face, threatening me with 50,000 volts," said Pierce, a well-known lawyer. "They threw me on the floor, twisted my left arm. A police officer stuck his knee into my ribs and jumped on me." Later he found out that his two ribs were cracked, recalled Pierce. The couple said the officers began taping them right away even though their rights weren't read until they were in the car. Once in jail, Pierce remembered he was interrogated for over an hour.
Story:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=9076aff2-cdea-4445-8149-cfe0a59f216c http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=9076aff2-cdea-4445-8149-cfe0a59f216c Couple plan to sue RCMP over 911 reaction
Published: Wednesday, November 22, 2006
NORTH VANCOUVER - A North Vancouver couple has complained to District of North Vancouver council and said they will sue the North Vancouver RCMP after officers responded to their hang-up 911 call by breaking down their door, making a forceful arrest and jailing them overnight when the couple refused to allow a house-search.
The RCMP said, however, that in this case, federal policy commands a home-check, designed to ensure public safety.
North Vancouver resident Marget Lieder said that in the early evening of Oct. 25 she was having wine with her partner and a guest when she misdialed the emergency number, meaning to call 411 instead. After promptly hanging up, the police contacted her, saying two officers were dispatched and warned her her home would be searched to confirm she wasn't in danger.
"I don't want my privacy to be invaded just because I misdial a number," she said. Once the officers arrived, she only spoke to them on her porch, refusing entrance. "They didn't have a search warrant and they didn't have anything to do in my house."
She insisted she had nothing to hide and there was no cause for distress. Three more officers arrived shortly after, broke down the door and arrested Lieder and her partner, Larry Pierce, for obstruction of justice, she said.
"I was sitting on the couch. They stuck a Taser in my face, threatening me with 50,000 volts," said Pierce, a well-known lawyer. "They threw me on the floor, twisted my left arm. A police officer stuck his knee into my ribs and jumped on me." Later he found out that his two ribs were cracked, recalled Pierce. The couple said the officers began taping them right away even though their rights weren't read until they were in the car. Once in jail, Pierce remembered he was interrogated for over an hour.
North Vancouver RCMP Const. John MacAdam said police are obliged to search the premises after a hang-up 911 call. Pierce maintained his rights were violated and he will go ahead with a lawsuit.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006