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Police question boy, 12, without guardian

John Curran
Northern News Services

Colville Lake (Nov 06/06) - A Colville Lake mother says police in Norman Wells abused their authority when they pulled her 12-year-old son aside for questioning during a search for bootlegged booze.

Sharon Tutcho said her son Daniel Tutcho was just the latest person to be treated unfairly. "Police pulled him into a room without a guardian or his chaperon present," she said.

Daniel Tutcho was returning from an Oct. 20-22 conference in Yellowknife aimed at empowering youth to keep their peers from starting smoking. "I can't explain it," the youngster said. "They thought I was drinking."

The boy said he was helping his cousin Estelle Kochon - who happened to be at the airport - carry her luggage to the check-in counter when they were pulled aside by police. "He's just a student," said his mother. "This is an abuse of power."

Previously, Daniel's sister Ryanna Kochon was also singled out for a search when she was passing through Norman Wells on her way home with her newborn daughter, said Sharon Tutcho. "My daughter saw the police waiting for her and she was scared something had happened to her family," she said. "She was told to sign off on the search or else she'd be in even more trouble."

Nothing was found as a result of either search, said the angry mother.

According to Tutcho, a number of Colville residents have complained to her that officers have been waiting at the airport. When their flight gets in, an officer demands to see their bags, she said.

Cpl. Donna Rorison - ranking officer in the Norman Wells detachment - said she has not received any complaints about the airport searches.

"If people have concerns with my officers in my detachment then they should contact me and I'll investigate the matter," said Rorison.

She insisted people from Colville Lake aren't being unfairly searched while passing through Norman Wells.

"Are we going out and randomly searching people? Absolutely not - we don't have the authority or the inclination." When officers do search passengers or their luggage, she said it's generally because police have received a tip the individual is carrying a dangerous or controlled substance. "Sometimes the airlines call us," she said.

Colville Lake has no restrictions on alcohol, said Rorison. Norman Wells on the other hand, does limit how much booze a person can possess at any one time.

"Norman Wells is a rationed community, as is Fort Good Hope for example," she said. If you're over-rationed when you get off the plane- even if you're just passing through town - it doesn't matter where you're going, you're breaking the law, she said.

"We're always fighting against bootlegging," said Rorison. "We routinely seize alcohol from people who are over-rationed."