News » Cops Mistake Tomatoes and Dahlias for Marijuana, Raid Home





An elderly Courtney, Canada couple were surprised late one night by police surrounding their home. They were handled roughly, handcuffed, and told they were going to jail as Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched their home and yard for suspected marijuana plants.

The police had run “aerial surveillance” of the property after being alerted to “marijuana smells” coming from the back yard. The surveillance showed several “cannabis-like plants,” triggering the raid.

Those plants? The elderly couple’s prized tomato and dahlia plants, which they garden lovingly in their back yard.

The police were embarrassed by the false alarm raid once they found out the plants weren’t what they thought they were. They apologized and the police chief offered a letter of apology from the Royal Mounted Police. The couple does not plan to sue, but has taken the story to newspapers.

The man wants people to know what happened and is calling for more civilian oversight of police actions. He wants his experience to serve the public good.

As an editorial note, he’s lucky they didn’t injure or kill him and his wife, as often happens in marijuana raids of this type – especially in today’s world of “dynamic entry” raids for little more than having been pinpointed by a questionable “informant” as someone who “has pot.”

[source The Province]

Tags: Canada, police, raid