Strip-search for pie in PM's face

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – A Canadian lawyer has been awarded more than C$10,000 ($8,550) in damages by a British Columbia court after he was falsely arrested and strip-searched over rumors he planned to throw a pie at the prime minister.

A judge ruled on Wednesday that police had no objective basis to believe that Cameron Ward (left) planned a pie attack when he was arrested in a crowd that was watching then-Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien during a visit to Vancouver in August 2002.

"He was too far away and was not in possession of a pie," British Columbia Supreme Court Judge David Tysoe wrote in his ruling, which said that Ward's constitutional rights had been violated.

LSB: “Hey, buddy, is that a cannoli in your pants?” Isn’t a strip search for a suspected pasty assault a little extreme?