RCMP took law 'into their own hands' by entering N.L. home and questioning child, lawyers say

A pair of criminal lawyers say that RCMP officers overstepped their bounds when they entered a Mount Moriah, N.L. home early Sunday morning and the police should provide a clear explanation as to what happened.

Michael Spratt, a criminal defence lawyer in Ottawa, says the police can only legally enter a home if they have a search or arrest warrant, or if there are exigent circumstances, such as a hot pursuit or information that a person is in imminent danger.

"It doesn't seem like any of those grounds existed here," Spratt said.

"What seems to have happened here is that the police simply took the easy way, took the law into their own hands and completely disregarded their constitutional obligations." 

On Tuesday, Cortney Pike told CBC News that she was awoken around 5:30 a.m. Sunday by the sounds of footsteps and voices outside her bedroom. 

Two RCMP officers had entered the house through an unlocked door looking for a missing 17-year-old girl, Pike said, and questioned her 11-year-old daughter while shining a flashlight in her face.

Pike said the police also told her they came to her home after receiving a report of the missing girl being seen in a red house on the street. She said there are multiple red houses on her street, including one across from her home, but none of their neighbours had any dealings with police on Sunday.

"Believing that the missing girl was in a red house did not give the police the authority to enter all red houses, and it appears that they failed to meet the reasonable probable grounds standard," says Michelle Johal, a criminal lawyer based in Brampton, Ont. and board member of the Criminal Lawyers' Association.

"To be honest, it appears in this case that the police were trespassers. In my opinion, they should have known better, they are responsible for enforcing the law and clear guidance has existed for years about the scope of their powers to enter homes without a warrant."

Spratt agreed.

"If these weren't police officers, if these were just people, they'd be facing lengthy jail sentences and charges, and perhaps these officers should be facing those consequences too," he said.

Spratt said it appears the RCMP officers decided to "enter a private residence first and ask questions later," creating a dangerous situation and violating the sanctity of Pike's home.

"Privacy in your own home is one of the most highly guarded rights in Canadian law.… This is a private place, it's a sanctuary. But to allow police unexpected, unfettered, unregulated access in the middle of the night, well-armed, into someone's residence is a recipe for disaster," he said.

"This is how people and police officers get killed, this is how members of the public get injured, this is how tragedy happens, and it seems that the police are a little too casual in the face of what is an inevitable future tragedy if this kind of behaviour continues."