B.C judge cites racial profiling,throws out evidence in pot trial

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VANCOUVER • A B.C. judge has thrown out the evidence against an Asian man stopped with 57 marijuana plants in his trunk after ruling he had been a victim of racial profiling.

Zai Chong Huang was pulled over in January 2009 as he travelled along a road in 100 Mile House, B.C., about 430 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. A search of his truck turned up the potted plants, a timer, a bottle of liquid fertilizer and 150 empty plant pots. Mr. Huang was charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Andrea Woo-PostMedia News

The Background

Two travelers, Mr. Huang and his identical twin brother Mr.Qing were passing through 100 Mile House in BC, each in a separate car, when they caught the attention of a R.C.M.P. officers Constable Berze who noticed the first brother at the gas station and later on the other brother came into the gas station, both men identical twins.

Certainly an oddity, though not a rarity.  The officer acting on a hunch that perhaps out of curiousity why two men, identical twins, leaving a local gas station at separate times in separate cars got the better of him.

The officer, Constable Berze and Constable Manseau like all officers are trained to spot unusual activity, considering the rash of grow operators and criminal activity by asian criminal organizations in the BC interior may have clued his police instincts when he pulled over one man swerving erractically.  Perhaps Mr. Huang evasivness when questioned and not understanding English may have piqued the officers curiousity, could Mr. Huang be an illegal immigrant, drug smuggler or just an innocent person? 

One personal instance; My teenage son, once he got his licence was thrilled when I let him drive my 2008 Cadillac Escalade. His thrill was soon short lived as whenever he drove it, police would routinely pull him over, not for traffic violations,but because police were curious why an 18 year old was driving an $80,000.00 vehicle? Profiling? Of course, Racial profiling no! The difference is semantics. Was I angry? No!  The police were only doing what they are trained to do.

Like fishing, you won't catch all the fish, but you may catch one, even then, sometimes you may have to let it go! 

The Crime

Mr. Qing, like his identical twin brother Mr. Huang was also pulled over by a R.C.M.P officer earlier, in which an inspection revealed his trunk was also loaded with marijuana. 

Profiling or Common Sense

While facial expressions, body language are tools officers use when questioning suspects, every instinct an officer relies is heightened to ensure the officers safety.  Looking intently at a person when questioning may determine if the suspect will pull a gun on the officer or will do something else. Can all the above actions be construed as racial profiling or just profiling along with common sense as part of a policeman's psyche?

BC The Worlds Criminal Superpower

A Macleans article publish two years ago stated emphatically that BC is the Worlds Criminal Superpower.

Media reports that the rash of marijuana production in British Columbia in the last decade, said to be the dominion of Metro Vancouver's criminal asian organizations are now making inroads buying up rural property in the British Columbia interior to set up large industrial style grow ops.

The R.C.M.P. report well over 18,000 grow ops in the lower mainland along and growing exponentially in the BC interior, was certainly something this R.C.M.P. officer was keenly aware of and most likely once he uncovered marijuana in Mr. Huangs trunk went on a rant with racial overtones, surprisingly enough Mr. Huangs command of the english language seemed to be quite eloguent to understand the officers rant and not the officers intial questioning on the outset.  How convienient!

Marijuana being one the major economic driving points in the British Columbia economy to the tune of multi billions of dollars a year has turned many a fortune for criminals, media state the majority being asian immigrants to British Columbia, in particular Vietnamese criminal elements.

Marijuana is not a Victimless Crime

While many feel marijuana is a victimless crime, those who do for the most part are personal users.  Police rarely harrass  the personal user, as witnessed by Vancouver's 420 Weed Day crowd whose annual smokefest at the downtown Vancouver library is well attended by tens of thousands of pot smokers.

Marijuana Grow op wholesalers on the other hand are on the police radar as it is these groups whose criminal activities are wrought will loss of life, guns, violence and smuggling, including the murder of high school children in Abbotsford who sold marijuana joints to friends, as well as countless Metro Vancouver home invasions by criminals who murder those operating small mom and pop grow operators who grow for personal use, medicinal and for friends.

The above murder cases, unsolved and on the books to this day.  Certainly marijuana is not a victimless crime for those families whose loss of loved one are forever impacted by marijuana.

Canada's Marijuana Laws

Marijuana possession, though technically illegal, in small amounts deemed for personal use is thought of as innocuous, much like jaywalking. Many users, including personal use growers with dozen plants won't even make a blip on police radar, a criminal enterprise on the other hand may not take kindly to you competing with them, hence the hundreds of grow rip offs in the lower mainland of mom and pop operators.  There is certainly something to say about that old adage "Loose lips, sink ships".

Canadian Government and the People

People vote for Government to pass and enact laws for the benefit of the people, government make the laws, police are to enforce them, courts are in place to mete out punishment for transgressors of these laws.  That is a fact!  Or so one would think?

While police solve the majority of cases based on evidence, information police have to go on, police also use intuition,hunches, clues, criminal patterns, recent and past histories in cases, this is how many,many cases are solved.  Serial murder Robert Pickton and the recent conviction of serial killer and rapist Colonel  Russell Williams were intially clued to police,by instinct, evidence came later, followed by charges laid.

BC Justice

BC Judge Bayliff who threw out the conviction based on her logic in serving the public interest is a misnomer, showing unmitigated incompetence of her common sense when the laws meant to protect the public are not paramount.

One would wonder if this conviction would have been enforced having more merit if the arresting R.C.M.P. constable were Asian.  The Race Card should never be used as a Get out of Free Card.

Heaven forbid if Justice Bayliff was the presiding factor during the trial of serial killer Robert Pickton if he were not white and Robert Picton used the race card?

Racial profiling or profiling, one and the same, only semantics in using the Race Card seems to gets you a Get Out of Jail Free Card in British Columbia.