Strip Search Found To Be Justified R v. Ali, 2020 ABCA 344

In R v Ali, 2020 ABCA 344, the Alberta Court of Appeal reiterated the longstanding principles that police officers are entitled to rely on information gathered by fellow officers during the course of an investigation. More specifically, a police officer's subjective belief can be based on information obtained from fellow officers.

FACTS

In Ali, the appellant was arrested for trafficking cocaine in Lethbridge, Alberta. Prior to his arrest, the Lethbridge police had received information that two people were bringing large quantities of cocaine from Calgary to Lethbridge in a brown van and were selling drugs from a specific residence. The police had physical descriptions and nicknames for the two people allegedly selling drugs and, after speaking to the building manager of the residence, they learned that tenants had complained about drug trafficking at the residence. The police conducted surveillance at the building and observed activity consistent with