On July 8th, 2020, Yukon RCMP‘s Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) executed a search warrant at the home of a suspected drug dealer in the the Kopper King area of Whitehorse. Robert Savard, 47, was arrested and charged with a host of drug trafficking charges, obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest.

The full list of charges Robert Savard now faces are below:

• Trafficking Cocaine;
• Possession of Cocaine for the Purpose of Trafficking;
• Possession of Codeine for the Purpose of Trafficking;
• Resist/Willfully Obstructing a Peace Officer;
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime.

While executing the search warrant, Whitehorse RCMP seized:

• An amount of suspected cocaine hydrochloride;
• An amount of suspected crack cocaine;
• Prescription pills;
• A large sum of cash;
• Packaging materials.

In what is surely the best way to protect public safety, a Yukon judge released Robert Savard on a promise to appear in court on July 29th.

This Revolving Door Justice drives police officers crazy.

One commenter on the the Whitehorse Star news release is as unimpressed as me.

Err, so a coke dealer charged with resisting and willfully obstructing a peace officer and a person with plenty of weapons charges do not get remanded in custody?

I’m sure everyone feels safer already.

A more likely scenario is Robert Savard is already back in business dealing drugs, albeit after a slight inconvenience.

And while this all seems so incredibly stupid to the average mere citizen, there is a legitimate reason for releasing pond scum like this – the presumption of innocence.

Until convicted in a court of law, every one of us has the right to be presumed innocent.

It’s an issue I’ll explore in depth in the near future.