Walter Cordery (Nanaimo Daily News) – The B.C. Civil Liberties Association plans to file a formal complaint against Nanaimo RCMP for what they deem as illegal trespassing following a dog squad training exercise in Lantzville on May 25.
“We are in the process of drafting the complaint right now,” said David Eby, executive director of the BCCLA.
The complaint stems from a lack of notification to Roger Smith and Tom Mosley, who live on Rossiter Avenue.
Neither property owner would have objected to the police conducting a training exercise on their properties if they had been warned.
Smith wanted to know how the police could come onto his property without permission.
Police apologized to the property owners and told the Daily News they believed the homeowners had been notified.
“We think the RCMP gave misleading statements to the homeowners about their having access to their properties during this exercise,” said Eby. “The complaint will be filed before the end of the week.”
Darren Lagan, RCMP spokesman for the Island, refused to comment saying “if they are going to file a complaint and we haven’t seen it yet, I don’t feel comfortable talking about it. “It sounds to me that the officer made an honest mistake and he did apologize for it. I really can’t see what is going to be accomplished by this action.”
Eby said previous incidents, like one in 2009 where Chilliwack officers in a canine training exercise shot a family pet that attacked a police dog, make it imperative police warn homeowners of their intentions.
“It’s important police remember this is not just an issue of trespass but it could be an issue of safety, especially if a child or family pet is involved. Training exercises do not give police the justification to circumvent Canadian law.”
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