|
|
| The Names | Growing Pains | Reader Comments | back to Index |
The constitutional challenge is going to be heard December 4-12, 2000 at the courthouse in Edmonton, Alberta. We don't know yet what courtroom. It would be wonderful if supporters would show up. Feel free to let people know.-AV
I heard a series of loud bangs, boots stomping on the floor, then, "Edmonton Police Service, get down on the ground, get the fuck down, get down on the fucking ground now!"
My common-law spouse Ken Kirk and I were in bed naked. It was just after 3:00 am on January 20, 1998. I wanted to get dressed but by the time I could have begun to try, there were several armed police men, with assault rifles drawn, in the bedroom, saying "Get the fuck down on the ground or we'll kick you in the head".
As I attempted to cover my naked body with bedsheets, I said, "What you are doing is immoral."
An officer shouted, "Shut up or you'll get hurt".
Ken attempted to zip up the pants he'd managed to put on. As he was zipping up his pants, an officer shouted, "Get down or we'll kill you".
Several other officers said, "Get the fuck down or I'll kick you in the fucking head," and Among the threats they also shouted insults like "druggie scum", "stupid", "scumbag" and "asshole".
I asked if they had a warrant, and Camp said they did and, "Do you really think we'd come in here without a warrant, Amy?"
I responded that I wouldn't put it past them.
An officer said to Ken, "Get the fuck down or I'll shoot you."
I began to lower myself to the ground, then an officer grabbed me by the breast briefly, then by the arm, another officer grabbed my other arm and one grabbed me by the leg and pulled me to the ground.
Ken exclaimed that we had final exams to write the next day, and that this was the worst thing that could happen because we'd miss our exams if sent to jail. I said, "Oh shit, we'll have wasted half a year in school."An officer said, "Shut up or we'll shoot you in the head".
Ken calmly informed them that he uses cannabis as medicine for epilepsy. Officers told him to shut up or they'd kick him in the head, and to "shut the fuck up or we'll kill you".
An officer said that we might as well tell them where the drugs were. Ken told them that there were plants in the bedroom closet and that there was a little bag of cannabis on the table in the study. Through the time they were in our bedroom they consistently threatened us with death, and kicks and gunshots to the head. There were at least four officers making threats, but it is hard to say which officer said what because most of the time my eyes were on the floor. As I lay face down on the bedroom floor, I felt three boots upon my back. It hurt. I looked up to see what was going on. I saw three officers dressed in black with their boots on my back and their guns drawn, and many (5-7) officers standing in the bedroom and in the doorway. Several of them were giggling and smiling, looking over my naked body. When I looked up I was told "Get down or I'll kick you in the head."
I turned my head back so that I was looking at the floor and asked if I could get dressed. An officer responded that I'd have to wait. They stood in the bedroom and doorway for a little longer oggling my body, then some policemen hauled Ken out of the room and made me sit up. Several officers stared at my breasts before leaving the room. They were obviously lingering in the bedroom longer than they had to. A female officer remained with me in the room as I dressed.
I was then led into the living room, which was quite smoky. I observed large burn marks on the carpet near the suite entrance. We found out later that the police had used what they call a "flash-bang" device - it's a smoke bomb/concussion grenade meant to disorient anyone in the room when it goes off.
During the course of the conversation with Thomas Farquhar, he told us that the only reason they were busting us is because we were "too visible, too vocal" about pot. He implied that if we just smoked pot and quit being pot activists, they would not want to bust us.
We were both charged with production of marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. There is no evidence for the trafficking part, the prosecutor even admitted this. We had seven small plants, five cuttings (clones) that had not yet rooted and about an ounce of pot.
We are scheduled to go to court December 4-12, 2000, where we plan to fight a constitutional challenge (stating that the pot laws are contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms) based on the fact the we use cannabis for medical purposes. I use it for chronic back and neck pain and asthma. Ken uses it to control epilepsy, bipolar disorder and chronic inflammation between the tailbone and pelvis.
The police broke or damaged:
- a window
- the living room carpet
- a stereo tuner
- five speakers
- a tape deck
- a paper umbrella (all of the above damages due to the smoke bombs and
concussion grenades)
- the door frame
- hinges on three doors
- filing cabinet
- pictures, historic posters and photos
The police stole:
- 29 grams of cannabis
- 7 cannabis plants
- 5 cannabis plant cuttings that had not taken root
- cannabis seeds
- lights
- dirt and pails
- Mason jars (some empty, some containing mould from and old biology project)
- a cardboard box
- a plastic box
- a photo of my uncle's wedding
- magazines
- my Church membership card
- two bags of vermiculite
- an RCMP hat (memorabilia a friend got from his grandfather)
- keys to our apartment and the Student's Association office where I worked
- documents and papers
- an out of service cellular phone
- computer disks
- $105
In response to some questions from us, Amy had this to say:
To answer your questions
One of the officers involved in our arrest was Cst. Steve Camp. Steve Camp
has since been kicked off the Edmonton Police Service due to an incident where
he pushed the owner of a local cafe, Cybercafe, down a flight of stairs. Cst.
Steve Camp is considered by many of those who have had dealings with him to be
one of the worst cops around. He is regarded as overly aggressive and very
eager. I heard from an aquaintance that he was involved robbing a marijuana
farmer of his plants, grow equipment and money. He and two other police officers
stormed in to this grower's home with guns, not to make any arrests, but to
steal.
Cst. Thomas Farquhar is the arresting officer in the last raid on our home. He was an undercover agent in 1996 and 1997, when he was instrumental in the arrest of tens of small-time pot dealers and pot smokers in Edmonton. His investigations led to a raid on the home I shared with four other people, on December 21, 1996. That's another long story - I'll write more about that later.
Farquhar and Camp were the main officers involved in the raid. I need to get some papers back from my lawyer before I can tell you the names of the other officers. I'll get back to you on that.
We plan to sue the police for property damages and emotional trauma after the charges against us are dealt with. We lodged a complaint with the City of Edmonton regarding the damages to our proprty, but their response was that the damages occurred during the course of a lawful search, therefore the police nor the city were not responsible for the damages. When we go to court in December, we need to get the judge to state that the police were overly violent and that our Charter rights were violated, then we use his ruling as the basis for a civil suit.
I think that, besides us being "too vocal", the police were so violent because they have all these toys (smoke bombs, concussion grenades, battering rams) and they like to play with them whenever they can. I suspect they get enjoyment out of terrorizing the "bad guys". At least some of them do. They claim that they had to use such tactics because we could have flushed to evidence. This makes no sense, though, since the source who tipped them off said that we had five foot tall plants. How could we flush five foot tall plants?
Email adresses for Amy von Stackelberg and Ken Kirk.
Send your comments and stories of police brutality to: ruitsdawtah@Hotmail.com
This page updated September 17, 2000
