Could Calgary Police Have Created a Criminal?

If you believe the movies and TV shows, those accused of crimes are always claiming that law enforcement officers planted evidence against them, or otherwise running prejudicial investigations that are geared more towards harassing identified targets than they are with discovering the truth. While this level of animus is typically way overblown in entertainment media, there have been cases where an overzealous law enforcement officer or two has overstepped the bounds of their job and of careful, truthful investigation in order to help secure an indictment and/or conviction—a serious problem that affects everyone in Calgary and the entire Canadian criminal justice system, but that rarely makes the news.

A recent blunder by the Calgary Police, however, nearly turned a crime victim into a major criminal (in a sense), and it's making the media rounds not just in Calgary, but internationally as well.

Calgary Car Theft Victim Ends Up Running Guns, Drugs

A Calgary woman was understandably dismayed when her car was stolen from an alley behind her home, and then understandably relieved when she received a call from the Calgary Police telling her she could pick up her retrieved vehicle once the forensics team had finished their search of the car. She showed up at the lot at the appointed time, was given her keys and told she was good to go…

...and had she left the lot, she could ostensibly have been found guilty of multiple major crimes including drug and weapons possession.

Luckily, she noticed a random piece of paper in her cup holder as she sat down in the driver's seat, and when she pulled it out a bag filled with cocaine fell out. She approached a lot worker asking what to do with this obviously illegal substance that had been left in her car, and she was told simply to throw it on the ground. Returning to her vehicle, she started looking around more carefully and found additional drug paraphernalia, four pieces of identification, and several weapons. She called the Calgary Police, and an officer came and removed the evidence before her car was towed to a repair shop.

That's when she saw the butt of a gun beneath her seat and decided she had had enough. She filed a complaint with the Calgary Police because she felt she had been violated twice—once when her car was stolen, and again when a police force that was either incompetent or simply didn't care returned her car in such criminally negligent condition. A simple traffic stop could have turned into a criminal defence nightmare for her if she hadn't noticed everything the real criminals—and the police—had left behind, and that's not exactly in line with the "protect and serve" attitude the Calgary Police are supposed to have.

A Calgary Criminal Defence Lawyer Who Won't Leave You Hanging

If you need a criminal defence lawyer in Calgary who isn't scared to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions, and who ensures that every detail of your case is checked out to provide you the best defence possible, please contact my office today.