Update on Anti-Graffiti Raid: VPD Vampires Return for Blood Sample
by Zig Zag
This time they knocked, instead of yelling their fool heads off as they did during the June 3 raid. When the door was answered by one of the household members, VPD detective constable Rainey told her that they were returning some of the property they had stolen during the June 3 raid, and that the members of the house would have to sign for their release.
VPD detective constable Rainey holding a
phone stolen by cops during June 3, 2014 raid.
When the one house member named in the June 3 search warrant went to the door, he was asked if a bag of silkscreen frames were his, then told there was a warrant to take a DNA sample from him. He was then arrested, placed in a prisoner transport van, and taken to the VPD headquarters at 3585 Graveley Street, near Boundary Road.
After talking to legal aid counsel, he was told to state that he did not consent to the taking of a blood sample, but not to resist as this could result in charges (resisting arrest or obstruction?).
According to the individual arrested:
“I was taken to a room and shown the warrant. I was then taken to call a lawyer. I began to phone but then another cop said he would call for me. I had no idea if they called the right number or even left a message. After a few minutes I talked to a legal aid lawyer. I was taken back to the room.”
Unidentified female cop also present
during June 3 raid.
After taking a blood sample, he was released, once again without charges.
The items returned to the household included 9 silkscreen print frames and a cell phone, all taken during the June 3 raid. When asked what silkscreen frames have to do with a graffiti investigation, constable Rainey stated it was a “mistake” that they were taken. When asked if he was a member of the Anti-Graffiti Unit, Rainey said no, that he was a general investigator.
police Sergeant.
Rainey was the cop who entered the house on June 3 with his pistol aimed at the occupants. Along with Rainey was a female cop also present during the initial raid, and who originally took the cell phone that was returned. Both were in plain clothes, along with another unidentified plain clothes cop. They were accompanied by a uniformed Sergeant, and all four left in a small Ford mid-sized car.
According to the house member who answered the door, there were additional cops present who quickly left once the door was opened. When police initially knocked at the front door, one of the plain clothes cops attempted to hide behind a garbage container in the alley to the rear of the house.
Silkscreen frames stolen during June 3 raid
and returned on June 12.
The warrant to take a DNA sample was dated June 11, 2014, and signed by Ram Gregoriou, the same cop who obtained a secondary warrant during the June 3 raid.
It is highly likely that the return of the stolen items was a pretext to come to the house in the execution of the warrant to take the blood sample. If the targeted individual was not present, they could have returned the items without alarming him or the other occupants of the house.
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