Police State of Ontario

2010-09-29T17:01:00.001-07:00

2010-09-29T16:50:00.001-07:00

Suspended officer gets $1,000 fine for forgery

2010-09-29T02:53:00.000-07:00

Source: Barrie Examiner
By MEGAN GILLIS, QMI AGENCY

A judge fined a suspended OPP officer $1,000 Monday for forging documents so he could go to an Elvis tribute show he produced in Gatineau, Que., while on bail for a string of criminal charges.

A year ago, Const. Maurice Morrissette asked for a bail variation so he could go to the show. He presented a prosecutor with two fakes when she asked to see an employment contract requiring him to be there.

Morrissette was previously convicted of breach of trust and obstructing justice for providing information and advice to known drug dealers.

OPP officer charged in bike accident

2010-08-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec

JARVIS – A Haldimand County OPP officer involved in a collision with a motorcycle has been charged.

OPP Sergeant Dave Rektor said today the collision occurred on Highway 6 near Jarvis Friday at 5:15 p.m. as a cruiser made a U-turn in the path of an oncoming motorcycle.

The 62-year-old Binbrook man riding the motorcycle suffered minor injuries and was treated in hospital and released.

Rektor could not say whether or not the rider was on his way to or from the Friday the 13th motorcycle celebrations in Port Dover that day.

Constable Jeffrey Howe, a four-year member of the OPP, has been charged with making an unsafe start from a stopped position.

Daddy Dalton Flip Flops Again

2010-08-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Every ones favourite Dad Does it again...

Just a few weeks ago McGuinty was saying MMA was not coming to Ontario, and now its coming along with Internet gambling.

MMA is not wholesome family entertainment is it? What happens Dad, if a child catches a glimpse of it on TV and then becomes a schoolyard bully, scarring other children for life?, is Dad going to give my 9 year old nephew whom I watch MMA with a lecture?

No doubt what happened is Daddy Dalton and his band of thieves seen the TAX that can be collected off these lucrative cash cows and then call it regulated!

Is a few deaths along the way OK if Ontario makes some cash?

Surely Dad knows that Internet gambling can lead to someone committing suicide, but it's ok naysayers it's going to be regulated.

I hope Kevin Wiener wins the battle and sues the province, putting a few more million on the record deficit that Dad has put Ontario in...

On-duty officer charged with stealing drug evidence

2010-08-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Source:The Spec

August 07, 2010
Joey Coleman

The Hamilton Spectator

Hamilton Police have charged one of their own after Oxycocet tablets were stolen from a locked drug deposit box at police headquarters.

The drugs went missing on July 23.

Nine-year veteran Andrew Pauls, 32, is facing two counts of theft of property valued under $5000, one count possession of property valued under $5000, possession of drugs, and breach of trust.

Pauls was released and will appear in court on September 2, 2010.

He has been suspended from duty with pay.

The investigation was conducted by the Hamilton Police Service with the assistance of an outside police force.

Watch thespec.com for updates

Conviction stands for Peel cop who stole cocaine

2010-08-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Source: Toronto Sun
BRAMPTON — Somewhere in the GTA, some very fortunate cocaine smugglers are thanking their lucky stars.

The bad guys narrowly escaped an RCMP drug sting that instead ensnared at least one dirty Peel Region cop, with another two officers now suspended and under investigation.

The surprising revelation that Peel Regional Police Sgt. Marty Rykhoff and Const. Warren Williams are also facing possible criminal and Police Service Act charges related to the case came at the sentencing hearing for former Const. Sheldon Cook, who was convicted in June of stealing 15 bricks of what he believed was real coke.

The Mounties didn’t exactly get the men they were aiming for.

The local cops believed they’d stumbled on a huge drug smuggling scheme in November 2006 when a frightened courier delivered his suspicious cargo to their doorstep.

The driver had panicked after a mysterious customer wanted him to deliver a truckload of mangoes from the airport to a dark and deserted yard with no loading dock. Instead, he took the load straight to police.

Finding bricks of white powder hidden under the fruit, Cook and the other cops believed they’d uncovered a massive cocaine shipment. Instead, they’d unknowingly landed in the middle of Operation Ocaper, an RCMP sting which had intercepted 146 kilos of coke bound from Peru to Toronto and replaced it with bricks of phony drugs embedded with GPS tracking devices.

But instead of tracking the drugs to the GTA smugglers, imagine the Mounties’ surprise when they not only got detoured to a Peel police station, but 44 of the one kilo bricks mysteriously went missing after officers got their hands on the errant load.

Cook was arrested by the RCMP a few days later after the signal led them to his Cambridge garage, where 15 bricks of the phony coke were found hidden in his Sea-Doo.

Justice Casey Hill rejected Cook’s contention that he knew they were fake drugs and had been told to take them home for safekeeping only to be framed later by his superiors, Williams and Rykhoff.

But on learning late last month from Crown prosecutors David Rowcliffe and Anya Weiler that their two key witnesses are now under police investigation themselves, Cook’s lawyer Patrick Ducharme demanded a mistrial, or at the very least, a reopening of the trial.

The judge refused both requests, saying that no matter what happens with the investigation into Williams and Rykhoff, it wouldn’t affect his conclusion that Cook was also guilty.

Hill said he’d been highly critical of both officers in his judgment and was very careful in what he believed of their testimony.

In fact, it was the judge’s harsh words for both cops during his verdict in June that led to their suspension and the launch of an internal affairs investigation two days later.

“As shocking as it may be to many, in my view, the two principal Crown witnesses, both sworn police officers, must be treated as suspect or tainted witnesses,” the judge had said in his 141-page decision.

He accused Williams of perjury, saying he lied to the court because of a “dangerous and warped code” of not snitching on a fellow officer.

The judge was even more scathing when it came to Rykhoff, saying he not only lied during his testimony but it was also “likely” that he “did remove” a box of the fake cocaine from the courier truck.

The judge noted that eight of the slit-open bricks were found in a dumpster 2.8 miles from Rykhoff’s home and that the Crown’s submissions admitted it “was probable that Rykhoff was involved with the accused in skimming a number of bricks of suspected cocaine from the bad guy’s load.”

This is the same officer, court heard, who was docked five days pay for pretending to be sick when he was actually partying it up at a college football game in Halifax the day after he was involved in the “drug” seizure.

It all sounds like a page torn out of the old Keystone Kops comedies, except the only ones laughing are the lucky drug smugglers who didn’t get stung.

Cook’s sentencing hearing continues next month.

Read Mandel Wednesday through Saturday. michele.mandel@sunmedia.ca or 416-947-2231

Two and half years Paid Vacation for Ottawa Police Constable Harinderpal Mamak

2010-07-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Source: Ottawa Police
29/07/2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 29, 2010 11:15am

(Ottawa) – Earlier today, Retired Deputy Chief Terence Kelly who was overseeing the Police Services Act charges against Ottawa Police Constable Harinderpal Mamak rendered a decision requiring the officer to resign within seven days or face dismissal.

His decision followed a Police Services Act trial that began on February 11, 2008, where the officer plead not guilty. On September 22, 2009, Mr. Kelly found Cst. Mamak guilty of one count of insubordination and one count of breach of confidence.

The Professional Standards Section of the Ottawa Police laid the two Police Act charges following an internal investigation. On December 12, 2007 Cst. Mamak was charged with one count of Insubordination (without lawful excuse, disobeyed a lawful order pertaining to access of CPIC) and one count of Breach of Confidence (without lawful excuse did divulge information retrieved from CPIC system knowing that it is his duty to keep secret) under the Police Services Act.

During the proceedings, Chief Vern White sought the dismissal of Cst. Mamak from the Ottawa Police given the seriousness of the charges and the importance of maintaining public trust and confidence. Today, Chief White noted: “We accept the decision and will act upon it pending the outcome of any appeals.”

Cst. Mamak, who has been suspended from duty with pay since December 12, 2007 has the right to appeal the decision, within 30 days, to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC). The Ottawa Police Service has no right to appeal in these matters, and as such, will accept the sentencing decision and will act upon it accordingly.

CONTACT: Media Relations Section

Telephone: 613-236-1222, ext. 5366

Ottawa Police Service/Service de police d'Ottawa

www.ottawapolice.ca

Toronto Police Officer Charged

2010-07-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

Source: TPS
Broadcast time: 15:49

Friday, July 23, 2010

Public Information

416−808−7100

A Toronto Police Service officer has been arrested and charged.
Constable Abdullah Khalid, 29, with one year of service, is a member of 43 Division.
It is alleged that:
− in June 2008, the accused provided fraudulent documents to a financial institution for a homeowner's mortgage.

He has been charged with:
1) Attempt to Obtain Credit by False Pretences,
2) Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence.
He is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall, on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, room 111, at 11 a.m.

OPP officers' case delayed

2010-07-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

Source:Barrie Examiner

Posted By SHAWN GIILCK, QMI AGENCY

The court case against the two Collingwood OPP officers charged with assault has been put off until Aug. 17.

Provincial Const. Jeremy Shiffman, 38, a five-year member of the OPP, and Provincial Const. Ashley Plumb, 26, a three-year member of the OPP, have each been charged with assault following an incident involving a woman on the Black Ash Trail.

According to police, on the morning of June 1, a 34-year-old Collingwood woman was out walking along the Black Ash Trail. At the same time, two people -- a man and a woman -- were running along the trail when a physical altercation occurred between them and the woman.

Shiffman and Plumb appeared briefly in Collingwood's Ontario Court of Justice Tuesday.

The two officers were charged on June 17 following an investigation by the OPP's Professional Standards Bureau. They have been assigned to administrative duties.

The Crown Attorney's office has not yet provided Plumb and Shiffman with disclosure, a legal representative said. Each officer is represented by a different lawyer.

The case was bound over until Aug. 17 at 9:30 a.m. to allow time for the disclosure to be provided.

In legal terms, disclosure is the presentation of all evidence collected by the police and the Crown Attorney's office pertaining to the case to the defence lawyers. Providing that material is mandatory

If it looks like a tax, chances are it is a tax

2010-07-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

Source: Ottawa Sun
Home / Comment / Editorial

William Shakespeare once wrote that a rose by any other name is still a rose. The same could be said about the new eco fee that the provincial government snuck in on July 1 by taking advantage of the din around the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). If it looks like a tax, and hurts like a tax, chances are it is a tax, no matter what the minions in Toronto say.

The reaction to the eco tax (we will not call it a fee, that is just nonsense) has been slow in developing, primarily because of the way it was snuck in, without prior debate or knowledge of opposition MPPs so they could at least vigorously question it during question period. Only now, two weeks later, are people starting to feel the sting of this eco tax, and are starting to scream loud enough to wake up their MPPs.

Consider this: On more than 5,000 everyday products you purchase, there is now an eco tax that ranges from 20% to 40%, and more in some cases.

Ostensibly, this is to cover the cost of recycling these products or their containers by a nearly anonymous group called the Ontario Stewardship Council, an unelected, unaccountable group of lobbyists and tree-huggers with little care how their tax will impact on middle-income and elderly Ontarians. A simple bottle of Javex bleach, on sale in many stores last week for 99 cents, cost you $1.52 before you left the store after 15 cents for the HST and 38 cents for the eco tax were added at the cash.

This affects a wide range of products, everything from electric razors and toothbrushes, to batteries, to sunblock, flashlights, detergent ... you name it, and the province will be digging into your pocket for the recycling fee (eco tax) it says it needs to dispose of its remains safely ... despite the fact municipalities already tax you for recycling and disposal.

This should get your blood boiling, not just for the underhanded way it was implemented, but for the simple fact that it is precisely what is meant by the term "taxation without representation," which is illegal under the British North America Act. There was no discussion, no feedback, no due process.

Is that a democracy?

Toronto Police Const. Adam Josephs from 52 Division at his finest

2010-07-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Street Racing OPP officer # two for the month of July

2010-07-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

OPP Const. Edward Phillipo, 39 is the second officer charged with stunt driving in the month of July.

Const. Edward Phillipo put his crusier into a a ditch and wrote it off, thankfully he only recieved minor injuries, his licence was suspended for seven days.

This is our tax dollars at work

OPP officer charged with Street Racing as result of crashed cruiser

2010-07-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

Source: Miner and News

Posted By Lloyd Mack
THUNDER BAY - The Ontario Provincial Police reported Thursday it has charged one of its own for racing a cruiser while in early July.

The OPP Technical Collision investigator and members of the Northwest Region Highway Safety Division conducted an investigation following an early morning July 9 single vehicle crash on Highway 17 in the town of Screiber. At approximately 5:40 a.m. a Schreiber OPP vehicle travelling eastbound left the roadway. The officer was transported to McCausland Hospital in Terrace Bay by ambulance where he was treated for minor injuries and released. The cruiser was demolished in the collision.

As a result of the investigation, 22-year-old Provincial Const.Evan Winslow, who has been a member of the OPP for 14 months, was charged with race motor vehicle contrary to section 172(3)(i) of the Highway Traffic Act. The officer's driver's licence has been suspended for seven days. He is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Schreiber on Sept. 13.

Guess he's lying...

2010-07-13T09:14:00.001-07:00

Great job by these two police officers

2010-07-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

Police State

2010-07-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

OPP officer, wife face charges

2010-07-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

Source:recorder.ca

Posted By NICK GARDINER, STAFF WRITER

An 11-year veteran OPP officer stationed at the Grenville County detachment in Prescott has been suspended from duty after a police raid Sunday at his Augusta Township residence.

Const. Jim Blanchette, 45, was suspended effective Monday as a result of an investigation launched after police received information alleging there was stolen property in his possession, said OPP spokesman Sgt. Kristine Rae.

Rae said the investigation was launched immediately by the OPP professional standards bureau.

During Sunday's raid, police seized several miscellaneous antique items, including furniture, eight unrestricted long guns and one restricted handgun, said Rae.

Blanchette and his wife Robin, 44, have been charged with nine counts of careless storage of a firearm, nine counts of possession of an unregistered weapon and one count of possession of property obtained by crime.

They were released from police custody on conditions and a promise to appear in Brockville court Sept. 24.

Rae said Blanchette is suspended with pay, according to the Police Services Act.

Officer charged after prisoner roughed up: SIU

2010-07-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

Source:The Toronto Sun

By KENNETH JACKSON, QMI Agency

OTTAWA - A Hawkesbury OPP officer has been charged with assault causing bodily harm after a prisoner was roughed up while in a cell in March, the Special Investigation Unit said Friday.

A 21-year-old man was searched by an officer while walking in the Vankleek Hill area March 20.

He was arrested for reasons that were not made available Friday and lodged in a cell.

During this time, "there was an interaction between an officer and the man" leaving the man with serious injuries.

Const. Jean Philippe Mathieu is charge with one count of assault causing bodily harm.

The officer is required to appear in court in L'Orignal on Aug. 4.

The SIU said it will not comment on the case because it's now before the courts.

The SIU is an arm's length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.

Peel Police slammed in beating Hamilton suspect

2010-07-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec
July 01, 2010
Tracey Tyler
Torstar News Service
The Ontario Court of Appeal has condemned the “horrendous” conduct of two Peel Region police officers who beat a Hamilton man suspected in a string of Mississauga home invasions, leaving him with a broken jaw and permanent disability.

Jason Tran said the officers who were transporting him to a Peel police station back in 2003 had warned him it would be “the hard way” if he asserted his right to silence and refused to provide a statement.

His decision to follow his lawyer’s advice and say nothing left him with a broken jaw and headaches that still persist.

“Regardless of whether the officers abused Tran to obtain a confession or for some other reason, the essential fact is that they beat him up,” Justice Gloria Epstein said in a decision released late Wednesday.

“Their conduct was despicable regardless of its motivation.”

The court called it shocking no disciplinary action has ever been taken against the officers, who tried to cover up the incident and lied about it later in court.

A three-judge appeal panel also had harsh words for the Crown, for appearing to shrug off the incident after a trial judge concluded Tran was severely beaten and rejected the officers’ story about how it was that he ended up beaten and bloodied in a police interview room.

Justice Michael Tulloch ruled during a pre-trial motion in 2006 that Constable Will Vander Wier had delivered the blow to Tran’s jaw

After the judge’s decision, the Crown continued on as if nothing had happened, inviting the officer to remain seated at the counsel table, beside prosecutors, for the trial.

“The Crown’s conduct was evocative of an alignment with the police, notwithstanding the abuse,” said Epstein, with Justices Robert Sharpe and Janet Simmons agreeing.

The appeal court said the only remedy was to enter a stay of proceedings, effectively quashing Tran’s conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery.

Tran, whose jaw had to be wired shut, was so badly injured that he now bites himself when he eats, has a sore jaw and loose teeth and suffers migraines.

Yet the appeal court was told during oral arguments in January that, despite Tulloch’s findings of serious brutality, no further action has been taken against the officers.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit had launched an investigation, but closed the file without charges on June 6, 2003 and refused to say why, citing confidentiality.

During Tran’s trial in 2006, a lawyer for the SIU advised the court that the unit’s director, John Sutherland, had concluded there were no reasonable grounds for believing the officer had committed any criminal offence.

“It is difficult to understand why or how those responsible for investigating the incident could continue to maintain that there are no reasonable grounds to proceed,” Epstein said.

Tran was found guilty after a 40-day trial in 2006 of conspiring with eight other people to carry out a series of home invasions in the Mississauga-Hamilton area over three months in 2002.

The court was told they were wearing disguises when they were transported to targeted houses by van.

The robberies were apparently aimed at drug dealers who allegedly owed money. But elderly women and an 8-year-old girl were among the victims.

One woman was sexually assaulted and another was told she would be shot if something went wrong.

A man inside one of the homes had a dollar sign carved into his back with a knife by one of the robbers, who also tried to cut off the man’s finger.

Tran turned himself in to Hamilton police on March 27, 2003.

He said officers began telling him on the drive back to Peel that they didn’t want to hear anything about him not wanting to make a statement. At the police station, he was shoved and punched in the ribs and jaw, he said.

During a pre-trial motion before Tulloch three years later, the officers denied assaulting Tran and claimed to have found him on the floor, handcuffed and bleeding from the mouth, after leaving him alone in the interview room for a while.

One of the officers, identified as John Conway in the appeal court’s decision, testified that it looked as though Tran had bitten his lip and that Tran had explained his presence on the floor by saying, “I don’t know, I guess I fell.”

Tulloch, the trial judge, didn’t believe the officers.

The medical evidence showed Tran’s injuries were consistent with a blow to the jaw, not falling on the floor.

Under the circumstances, Tulloch had only two options: to stay the charges against Tran; or to reduce his sentence in recognition that his Charter rights had been seriously violated.

Tulloch opted for the latter, reducing a 28-month sentence by half and giving Tran 14 months plus three years probation.

The trial judge justified his decision by noting that the charges against Tran were serious and society has an interest in seeing these cases through to the end. While the abuse he suffered cannot be condoned, his beating at the hands of police did not affect the quality of the evidence used against him, Tulloch said.

But the appeal court said that didn’t go far enough.

Society’s interest in prosecuting a case is outweighed this time by the affront to decency and fair play caused by the officers’ serious abuses, it said.

“It is essential for the court to distance itself from this kind of state misconduct — an unwarranted, grave assault causing bodily harm, delayed medical attention, a cover up that included perjury, a prosecutorial response that affected the perception of trial fairness and no effective response,” Epstein said.

“Not to do so would be to leave the impression that it tacitly approves of it.”

The court dismissed appeals brought by two of Tran’s co-accused, Hoa Dang and Robert Johnson.

Peter Zaduk, Tran's trial lawyer, said he has been on bail but under virtual house arrest for the past three years, pending his appeal.

McGuinty won’t say why cabinet passed law in secret to give police more powers

2010-06-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec

June 28, 2010
TORONTO — There was lots of second-guessing of police actions Monday following violent G20 protests, but some of the debate focused on moves by the Ontario cabinet that critics said suspended civil liberties in Toronto and kept the new law secret.

Opposition parties and civil libertarians were outraged the Liberal cabinet gave police extra powers to question, search and detain people near the G20 fences, and then failed to inform the public until it was too late to mount a court challenge.

“The secret law was inappropriate (and) the use of mass arrests as a tool to eradicate or find 50 to 100 looters is not appropriate,” said Nathalie Des Rosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“It’s unconstitutional.”

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has so far refused to explain why his cabinet felt it had to pass the law in secret and keep it secret.

The decision to update the 70-year-old Public Works Protection Act for the first time ever — extending rules that normally govern court houses to portions of downtown Toronto — was done because of a special request from police, McGuinty said last week.

However, the premier still hasn’t said why the decision was taken in secret by a cabinet committee without any debate in the legislature, which was sitting at the time.

The Opposition said it understood the need for police to have resources to deal with “thugs” intent on committing violence during the G20, but also wondered why the law hadn’t been made public.

“I’d have a lot more respect for Premier McGuinty if he had the courage to let the public know that the law had changed,” said Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.

“To keep that secret in a cabinet discussion and not discuss it in the legislature, was slippery and cowardly.”

Toronto Mayor David Miller expressed his frustration on the weekend that the province had not made the new law public.

Instead, the premier’s office on Monday referred reporters to a newspaper ad with the headline: What you need to know about the G20 summit.

While the ad talks about restrictions to people who want to enter the secured summit area, it makes no mention of the special powers given to police to arrest people during the G20 week.

The government said Monday that the law was “not about police powers but about property,” and merely extended the Public Works Protection Act to specific areas within the G20 security zone.

Reports of expanded police powers to arrest and detain became public knowledge Friday — weeks after the Cabinet quietly passed the regulatory change — after a protester was arrested outside the security zone.

Throughout the weekend there were reports of police stopping people throughout downtown Toronto — often in areas nowhere near the G20 fences — demanding identification and to search bags and backpacks.

The Civil Liberties Association said the secret law played a factor when police decided to make mass arrests after cars were set on fire and windows smashed during Saturday’s G20 protests.

“I think it was one of the aspects (driving police behaviour),” said Des Rosiers.

“They got frustrated and angry when some of the looting and destruction was taking place and the message was they had to catch these 50 or so Black Bloc kids and they forgot about everything else.”
Amnesty International also expressed concerns about a “curtailment of civil liberties” and demanded the federal and Ontario governments co-operate in launching an independent review of the security measures put in place for the G8 and G20 summits.

There was lots of second-guessing of police actions Monday following the sometimes violent G20 protests on the weekend, but some of the debate focused on moves by the Ontario cabinet that critics say suspended civil liberties in Toronto and kept the new law secret.

Opposition parties and civil libertarians were outraged the Liberal cabinet gave police extra powers to question, search and detain people near the G20 fences, and then failed to inform the public until it was too late to mount a court challenge.

“The secret law was inappropriate (and) the use of mass arrests as a tool to eradicate or find 50 to 100 looters is not appropriate,” said Nathalie Des Rosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“It’s unconstitutional.”

Stunt was no joke

2010-06-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Source: Barrie Examiner
Mr. Lahey's grand entrance into downtown Barrie played out in true Trailer Park Boysstyle.

One person pulled a foolish prank and another got a ticket.

John Dunsworth, 64, who plays Jim Lahey, the deranged trailer park supervisor on the show, was seen car-surfing down Dunlop Street on route to an autograph session.

Sadly, his improv move left 17-year-old Kyle Panezutti with charges, and nearly cost him his licence and wheels.

"That kid had nothing to do with what I did. I just jumped up on his car, kind of improv, and I didn't mean for him to get in trouble," an upset Dunsworth toldThe Barrie ExaminerMonday. "I was just there for an autograph session, we played a gig up the street at Yuk Yuks."

Dunsworth was headed to Liquid Chrome, a water-pipe and lighter superstore, to meet fans and sign posters, and decided it'd be funny to hitch a ride on Panezutti's black GMC Jimmy.

Then, he had a performance with co-star Randy (Patrick Roach) at the Barrie comedy club that night.

He said the stunt wasn't planned and Panezutti didn't know it was coming. "I want people to know he (Panezutti) doesn't know me. I don't know him," Dunsworth said.

Panezutti can second that. The young man said he was merely sitting in traffic, heading down to hopefully catch a glimpse of Mr. Lahey.

But, he didn't expect to have him perched on his mom's SUV.

"I watch (Trailer Park Boys) a lot, and my buddy and I went down to see if we could meet him (Dunsworth) and get a picture," Panezutti said. "I stopped at a light near Liquid Chrome and saw him and said 'Hi' to him. Then, suddenly, I felt someone jump up on top of my car.

"I thought he'd just jump back off, but he just stayed there," he added. "But I was stopped. I wasn't driving fast down the street with him up there."

Jiri Kusak, Liquid Chrome's district manager, said the incident, and Dunsworth's presence, drew a big crowd at his store from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

"He (Dunsworth) actually climbed up on some guy's car and car-surfed, before being escorted into our store," Kusak said, with a laugh. "It was pretty funny. I'm guessing there were 300 people there. He drew a great crowd."

Kusak said the crowd loved the stunt, and pictures of it were actually posted on Liquid Chrome's Facebook page.

While Dunsworth insists the stunt was his fault and his idea, a nearby Barrie police officer thought otherwise. He initially charged Panezutti with stunt driving, but later lowered it to careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act.

Panezutti and his mother, Pandy Stoppert, are livid, and feel the charges should be dropped due to the joking nature of the stunt.

But Barrie Police Chief Wayne Frechette said he believes the charge was necessary.

"It's about him committing a driving offence. If I'm driving, and some guy's on my roof, I'm still the one committing the offence," Frechette said. "We're not looking to charge the other guy, on the car. I don't think we can charge him. There's no charge for stupidity.

"The officer probably talked to that guy, and I really question that guy's (Dunsworth) sanity for doing something like that. But I don't think we were wrong in charging the driver."

Stoppert is furious with Barrie police, and could hardly contain her anger while speaking with The Barrie Examiner, Monday.

"I'm livid with that officer to let this be escalated to this point," the Barrie mom said. "It started out as something weird happening, and has caused so much grief and expense. I'm still trying to get this charge abolished.

"Tell me, how is he responsib

le for an unknown person jumping on his car? I can't grasp this," she added. "I'm still in shock and really frustrated over this."

Stoppert said she actually met with Dunsworth and he accompanied her and her son to the Barrie police station Monday morning.

"He went with us and told the police it wasn't Kyle's fault," she said. "He paid the towing fee for my car, and he said he's willing to pay our legal fees when we go to court.

"He even gave Kyle and his buddy free VIP passes to the show Sunday night and he got up on stage and explained what happened to the crowd," she added.

Frechette said although the charge has been laid, there might still be some hope for Panezutti.

"He (Dunsworth) can, if he wishes, come to Barrie court and testify on the kid's behalf, maybe the judge will believe him and go easy on him," Frechette said. "Maybe it won't make any difference. You never know."

That isn't enough for Stoppert, who wants her son's name cleared. But she could see one silver lining.

"The only thing that saved Kyle is them dropping the charge, which got him his license and his car back today," she said.

ncruickshank @ thebarrieexaminer.co m

Article ID# 2572378

Officers charged for assault on trail

2010-06-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Source:Enterprise-Bulletin

Posted By SHAWN GIILCK

Two Collingwood OPP officers have been charged with assaulting a woman on the Black Ash Creek Trail.

The alleged incident occurred June 1, and OPP officials -- including Collingwood OPP detachment commander Inspector John Trude -- were tight-lipped about the details Wednesday.

"The complaint was investigated by Professional Standards, and as the matter is before the courts, I have no further comment other than the information released in the original press release," Trude stated in an email to the Enterprise-Bulletin.

According to a news release from central region media relations officer Const. Peter Leon, the OPP's Professional Standards Bureau charged two members of the Collingwood OPP detachment this morning following the investigation of an incident that occurred while both officers were off-duty.

Provincial Const. Jeremy Shiffman, 38, a five-year member of the OPP, and Provincial Const. Ashley Plumb, 26, a three-year member of the OPP have each been charged with assault.

According to police, on the morning of June 1, a 34-year-old Collingwood woman was out walking along the Black Ash Trail. At the same time, the two off-duty officers were running along the trail when a physical altercation occurred between them and the woman.

Leon said the Professional Standards Bureau commenced an investigation immediately.

Both Shiffman and Plumb are apparently avid long-distance runners, having appeared in many races around Ontario, according to an Internet search. Little else is known about them.

In a telephone interview, Leon declined to provide more details on the incident, saying the matter was "before the courts."

"I can't speak to specific details," he told theEnterprise-Bulletin.

"Once the complaint was received it was immediately investigated," he added. "The officers were placed on administrative duties once the OPP became aware of the incident and will remain working in this capacity until the conclusion of the court case."

Both Shiffman and Plumb are scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Collingwood on July 20

Police officer charged with child porn

2010-06-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Source: Brantfordexpositor.ca
Posted By JOE BELANGER, QMI Agency

London police have charged a Brantford police officer -- already facing Police Act charges -- with possession of child pornography.

Police said the man was arrested Monday and the investigation was launched after police received a complaint about child pornography on his computer.

A source said the officer lived in London at the time of the offence, but no other details were immediately available.

Timothy McPhee, 34 years, of Woodstock is charged with possession of child pornography.

McPhee, a constable, is scheduled to face a disciplinary hearing on a Police Act charge of insubordination on July 27.

A spokesperson for Brantford police could not immediately be reached for comment, although a press release is expected to be issued later today.

Police allege McPhee accessed the Canadian Police Information Centre, or CPIC, on more than one occasion for personal reasons between Oct. 28, 2009 and Jan. 11, 2010.

CPIC is the confidential, online police information system about criminals and crimes. It is illegal to access the system unless related to an investigation or in the performance of an officer's duties.

Hamilton police officers face assault charges

2010-06-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec
June 24, 2010
By Nicole O’Reilly
A Hamilton police officer charged with impaired driving last month is now facing threatening and assault charges following an incident in a Cambridge bar that preceded the impaired driving incident.

A second officer, who was also in the bar on May 30, has also been charged with assault with a weapon.

Both officers were off duty at the time, and have since been suspended from front-line patrol duties with Hamilton police, said Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings.

Waterloo Regional police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel said he could not elaborate on the disturbance in the bar, as the matter is before the courts.

The impaired charges against Kevin Farrell, 26, were laid immediately after he was pulled over around 1:30 a.m. Heinzel said an investigation in to the preceding bar incident ensued, leading to the charges announced today.

The two-year member of the Hamilton police and Stoney Creek resident now also faces charges of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and assault.

Caitriona Sabatini, 26, of Stoney Creek and a three-year member of the police service is charged with assault with a weapon.

Farrell was scheduled to appear in a Cambridge court today on the impaired driving charges. On today’s charges he was released on a promise to appear Aug. 19.

Sabatini was also released on a promise to appear Aug. 26.

noreilly@thespec.com

905-526-3199

Special constable charged with assaulting person in custody

2010-06-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec
June 24, 2010
Nicole O’Reilly
Hamilton Spectator
A Niagara Regional police special constable is facing assault charges following an incident with a person in custody.

The incident occurred April 27 when the male special constable was working in the Niagara Falls holding cell.

Police have not released any details of the incident, other than to say the 10-year police services employee was charged with assault today.

Detectives from Niagara’s policing standards unit investigated this matter.

The special constable is suspended from duty with pay while awaiting disposition.

He has been released from police custody and is scheduled to appear in a Niagara court on Aug. 20.

noreilly@thespec.com
905-526-3199

Cop broke heroin addict's arm

2010-06-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Source:Cnews

By SAM PAZZANO, QMI Agency

NEWMARKET, Ont. - A hulking Toronto cop was found guilty Tuesday of assault causing bodily harm for breaking a scrawny heroin addict's arm.

Madam Justice Lucia Favret found Det. Christopher Higgins guilty of assault causing bodily harm against Gary Shuparski, then 50, on April 1, 2004, based on medical evidence and other testimony that corroborates the addict's version of events.

"It doesn't make any sense that he wouldn't have complained of (the broken arm) earlier, so he could make the police take him to the hospital," Favret said in reading her judgment.

Shuparski testified that Higgins kicked his arm "like a football" in an interview room at 51 Division while the 5-foot-7, 120-pound prisoner was on the floor, using his forearms to protect his ribs.

It's the second trial on these allegations for Higgins, 39, a 20-year veteran of the police service, who was acquitted at a 2005 trial. The Crown appealed, winning a second trial in 2007.

Shuparski received what is known as a "classic night-stick fracture" -- which usually occurs when the forearm bone, exposed in a defensive gesture, is struck by a hard object such as a baseball bat or lead pipe, court heard.

The defence is asserting Shuparski's arm was accidentally broken when 250-pound Const. Joe Pedneault and 275-pound Higgins arrested him at his North York apartment.

Favret rejected the defence version. She ruled instead that his arm was broken in an interview room at 51 Division when Shuparski was alone in the room with Higgins.

Shuparski angered the burly Higgins by using an obscenity to tell him to look up his date of birth, rather than answering the officer's question.

Shuparski, who died of a heroin overdose in 2006, testified he was punched and dropped to the floor.

He said he then shielded his ribs with his arms from Higgins' kick.

Favret noted that Shuparski was strip-searched, removing his T-shirt without difficulty, and appeared normal, if upset, by the arrest.

His immediate reaction -- profanely accusing Higgins of breaking his f---ing arm" -- and writhing in intense pain was consistent with expert medical evidence given at the trial, said Favret.

Favret will sentence Higgins on Sept. 29.

sam.pazzano@sunmedia.ca

Cop charged with assaulting prisoners

2010-06-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Source: Toronto Sun

By TAMARA CHERRY, Toronto Sun

A west-end Toronto Police officer is accused of assaulting and threatening prisoners.

Const. Christopher Hominuk, 37, was suspended from duty Tuesday after the Toronto Police professional standards unit was alerted to allegations stemming from a May 24 incident, a Toronto Police press release said Saturday.

Investigators allege the 22 Division officer responded to a call where three men had been arrested for various alleged offences when he "assaulted two of the prisoners who were in custody," the press release said.

The 13-year constable is also accused of threatening to hurt both prisoners.

He was charged Saturday with assault, two counts of threatening bodily harm and two counts of assault with a weapon.

Police didn't say what type of call Hominuk was responding to or what offences his alleged victims were accused of.

tamara.cherry@sunmedia.ca

Police officer facing six new charges

2010-06-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

Source:Chatham Daily News
Posted By ERICA BAJER, THE DAILY NEWS

A Chatham-Kent Police Service officer has been arrested and charged with six criminal offences.

Const. Thomas Andrew Brown, 45, was arrested Tuesday.

Police said he is charged with with two counts of uttering threats, two counts of criminal harassment, one count of intimidation and one count of breach of an undertaking, which was entered into on a previous criminal charge.

Brown appeared in bail court Wednesday and was remanded into custody.

He is scheduled to have a bail hearing Friday.

Insp. Ed Reed said the 20- year veteran police officer was suspended with pay at the time of the alleged offences.

"We became aware of information and as a result investigated and subsequently laid the criminal charges," Reed said.

"There's not much more I can add. The matter is before the courts."

Brown is currently suspended from duty as a result of a previous arrest in January of 2009.

At that time Brown was charged with assault and break and enter, Reed said.

Those matters are still before the courts with the next scheduled date of Aug. 27.

Reed said as a result of the criminal charges in January of 2009, Brown was also charged under the Police Services Act of Ontario with two counts of discreditable conduct.

He said Brown pleaded guilty to those charges in February of this year. His sentencing hearing on the Police Services Act charges is scheduled for June 21.

Reed said Brown will likely be facing additional offences under the Act as a result of the charges laid Tuesday.

ebajer@chathamdailynews.ca

Article ID# 2616209

SIU charges Windsor detective with assault causing bodily harm

2010-06-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

Source: Windsor Star

Victim needed emergency eye surgery, suffered head injuries and broken nose.
By Trevor Wilhelm and Sarah Sacheli, The Windsor Star

WINDSOR, Ont. — The province’s police watchdog has charged a Windsor detective for allegedly beating a visually impaired doctor so severely he required emergency surgery.

The Special Investigations Unit has charged Det. David Van Buskirk with assault causing bodily harm for the April 22 incident that left Dr. Tyceer Abouhassan with head injuries, a broken nose and a detached retina.

“There are still effects of the injuries being felt by him to this day,” Anthony Barile, Abouhassan’s lawyer, said Wednesday.

This is the second time the SIU has charged a Windsor police officer. The only other time was in 1993 when a detective was charged with careless use of a firearm — a charge that was later dropped.

Including the Van Buskirk case, the SIU has investigated Windsor police 28 times since 2002.

Numbers are not available for previous years, said Monica Hudon, SIU spokeswoman.

Abouhassan, 37, was jogging from the train station to his family’s home in South Windsor when Van Buskirk arrested him outside the Jackson Park Health Centre about 5 p.m. Windsor police Chief Gary Smith refused to say Wednesday if Van Buskirk was on duty at the time or why he confronted the doctor.

Van Buskirk, has remained on the job since the April incident. Smith said Van Buskirk is restricted to administrative duties, not working on the street, and there are no plans to suspend him.

Other police officers charged with crimes — including two currently before the courts on smuggling charges — have been suspended with pay.

The chief said there’s no hard and fast rule about what he must do when an officer is charged with a crime.

“It’s based on the facts that are presented at the time,” said Smith. “Everything’s done on a one-by-one basis.”

Smith also said there are no plans to bring Van Buskirk up on charges under the Police Services Act.

“I have nothing before me that would cause me to proceed with a Police Act,” said Smith. “That doesn’t mean as the case unfolds I won’t get other information. As things come out I will be constantly reassessing.”

Van Buskirk, a popular police officer who coaches a baseball team sponsored by the Windsor Police Association, is to appear in court on the assault charge July 8.

His lawyer, Andrew Bradie, who routinely represents members of the Windsor Police Association, said the officer will plead not guilty.

Workers inside the medical centre witnessed the altercation and it was captured by security cameras. It ended with an ambulance transporting Abouhassan to Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital.

Abouhassan spent several days in hospital and underwent emergency surgery to repair a detached retina. Abouhassan had amnesia when he arrived, said his friend, Dr. Wassim Saad.

After Abouhassan was released from hospital, police charged him with assaulting a police officer. Barile said he expects, now that Van Buskirk is before the courts, the charge against Abouhassan will be dropped.

Barile will attend court on Abouhassan’s behalf when his charge is spoken to next week. “I’m hopeful the charge will be withdrawn, if not (that day), eventually.”

Smith said police charged Abouhassan without hearing his version of the events. “I didn’t have any information from the doctor. I didn’t have his side of the story. He told that to SIU. So I can only base it on the information we have before us.”

Smith wouldn’t reveal what Van Buskirk’s side of the story was.

“I can’t talk about any of the investigation,” he said.

Barile said the doctor has not filed a civil suit, but did not rule it out. “It’s never been about the money,” Barile said.

Abouhassan filed a complaint with the SIU on May 11. Barile says he filed a formal complaint with the professional standards branch at Windsor police the same day.

Despite that, Smith said Wednesday Windsor police have not heard from the doctor.

Barile said he and the doctor put their faith in the SIU and were gratified to learn Wednesday the police officer was charged.

“We are very satisfied with the way the investigation has been handled by the SIU,” Barile said. “We were confident the SIU would make the right decision.”

The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates complaints against police involving death, serious injury or sexual assault.

Abouhassan is out of town and is not available for an interview, Barile said.

Abouhassan, a graduate of the University of Western Ontario’s medical school, is finishing an endocrinology fellowship and was hoping to set up a practice here this summer. Barile said Abouhassan still intends to return to Windsor.

“Windsor is lucky to have him,” Barile said.

Van Buskirk has been a Windsor police officer for 22 years. In 1998 he pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct and neglect of duty. He and another officer posed with two topless Michigan women in front of their police cruiser. They then accompanied the women to a hotel room, spending 90 minutes inside.

Convicted under the Police Services Act, Van Buskirk was docked 60 hours’ pay.

At the time of his Police Act hearing, Van Buskirk had no black marks on his record and had earned a commendation during his then 10-year career.

Van Buskirk’s prior sanctions escaped the police chief’s memory when interviewed Wednesday.

“He’s got a good reputation internally here,” said Smith, who until reminded of the 1998 conviction, said Van Buskirk had never before been in trouble.

“I wouldn’t pay much attention to that stuff from back then.… That wouldn’t be within my scope of research on anything like this.”

Smith said the current charge against Van Buskirk is troubling.

“Assaults are always serious,” said Smith. “I’m assuming because we have faith in the system that SIU has ample grounds to lay the charge. I just don’t know what those grounds are and what the circumstances are.”

© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star

St. Thomas Officer faces charges

2010-06-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Source:St.Thomas Times-Journal

Posted By KYLE REA TIMES-JOURNAL
Posted 2 days ago

A seven-year veteran of the St. Thomas Police Service is charged with two counts of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.

Const. Beverley Brennan is charged after the St. Thomas service launched a "comprehensive internal investigation" in April by the St. Thomas Police Service Professional Standards Branch.

A news release from Deputy Chief Darryl Pinnell says the charges are in relation to alleged off-duty use of marijuana between March, 2008, and March, 2010.

Brennan is to appear before a Police Services Act tribunal on June 18 in St. Thomas council chambers.

Supt. Frank Roselli has been appointed to preside by Peel Regional Police Service who were called in to assist St. Thomas police.

Brennan could face sanctions under the act, ranging from unpaid suspension, temporary demotion or termination.

No further details were available.

Update: Ottawa Police charges an Ottawa Police Officer with Criminal Harassment

2010-06-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Source:OPS
04/06/2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, June 4, 2010 3:50pm

(Ottawa)—As a result of charges laid by the Ottawa Police Service in February of this year, the Ontario Provincial Police will be re-commencing a 2008 court case against an Ottawa Police officer due to the officer failing to comply with conditions of a peace bond.

In November of 2008, an Ottawa Police officer was charged by the OPP with partner related assault, mischief and uttering threats to damage property. In June of 2009, the charges were stayed by way of a peace bond.

The Ottawa Police will not release the name of the officer in order to protect the victim’s privacy and prevent further victimization, as the charge relates to a domestic situation. We would request the media consider this when reporting on the matter.

The officer is scheduled to appear in Cornwall Court on June 10, 2010.

The Ottawa Police will not disclose any further information on this case in light of the fact that this matter is now before the court.

- 30 -
For information:
Media Relations Section
Tel: 613-236-1222, ext. 5366

Police officer suspended

2010-06-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

Source:Chatham Daily News
A Chatham-Kent Police Service officer has been suspended following allegations of misconduct under the Police Services Act of Ontario.

Const. Stan Blonde, a six-year veteran of the service, is suspended with pay. He is facing 10 allegations under the act including one count of deceit, two counts of discredible conduct and seven counts of neglect of duty, CKPS said in a news release.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the professional standards branch of the service.

CKPS said several of the charges were laid as a result of the officer's interactions with the public and the alleged misuse of police service resources.

Blonde faces a Police Services Act hearing. A date hasn't yet been set.

OPP officer charged, suspended for uttering threats

2010-06-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

Source:TBNEWS
A North West Region OPP officer has been charged with uttering threats, police confirmed Tuesday.

The charge follows an investigation by the OPP’s Professional Standards Bureau. It follows an incident that took place in Terrace Bay on May 30.

Few details have been released about the alleged incident, but police say Const. Gregory Sutton, 40, was charged with a count of uttering threats. Police also seized six long guns and two handguns from the officer’s residence, which resulted in two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm.

The Constable has served with the Schreiber detachment of the OPP for about eight years. Police say the constable was off duty at the time of the incident and that the seized firearms are not related to his duties as a police officer.

Sutton has been suspended from active duties.

Sutton will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Thunder Bay on July 5.

OPP officer Charged...

2010-06-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Source:SIUOntario Provincial Police Officer Charged

MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 31, 2010) - The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has reasonable grounds to believe that an officer with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Port Credit detachment committed a criminal offence in relation to an incident involving a 24-year-old woman. Director Scott has caused a charge to be laid against the officer.

The SIU was contacted on January 8, 2010, regarding a complaint of a sexual nature against an officer with the OPP. The alleged incident occurred on December 21, 2009. The SIU was notified that on this date, the woman was stopped for driving infractions. During her interaction with the officer, the woman alleged she was sexually assaulted.

As a result of the SIU investigation, Constable Justin Maguire of the OPP is facing one charge of Sexual Assault, contrary to s. 271 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

The officer is required to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice at 2201 Finch Avenue West in Toronto on June 28, 2010. The Justice Prosecutions branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General will have carriage of the prosecution.

As this matter is now before the courts, and in consideration of the fair trial interests of the charged officer and the community, the SIU will make no further comment pertaining to this investigation.

The SIU is an arm's length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. Under the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU must

•consider whether an officer has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
•depending on the evidence, lay a criminal charge against the officer if appropriate or close the file without any charges being laid
•report the results of any investigations to the Attorney General.

Five-year OPP officer charged following car crash

2010-05-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Source:ctv.ca

A 31-year-old Ontario Provincial Police constable is charged with failing to yield after a marked police cruiser crashed into a westbound vehicle as the cruiser made a U-turn, police say. Both vehicles were severely damaged in the incident.

The crash took place around 2:30 p.m. Saturday as the OPP officer inside the vehicle was trying to stop an eastbound vehicle on Highway 7 near Carleton Place, at Townline Road.

No one was injured in the collision.

Jonathan Bigford, 31, was charged with failing to yield under the Highway Traffic Act. No court date has been announced and the police continue to investigate the crash.

This is the second crash in recent days involving an OPP officer. In an unrelated incident, Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau officer John Oke was involved in a single-vehicle crash on Highway 62, north of Belleville, on Friday. His injuries were described as serious and the crash is under investigation.

Off-duty police faces impaired driving charge

2010-05-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec
May 30, 2010
An off-duty Hamilton police officer is facing a charge of impaired driving following an incident in Waterloo Region early Sunday morning.

Kevin Farrell, a two-year member of the Hamilton Police Service, has been charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle.

Early today, Waterloo Regional police stopped a vehicle on the belief that the driver was impaired.

The 26-year-old Stoney Creek man was released and will appear in Cambridge court on June 24.

Farrell has been suspended from operational duties with Hamilton police until further notice.

Toronto Police win CAJ secrecy award

2010-05-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Source: CAJ

MONTREAL, May 29 /CNW/ – The Toronto Police Service has won the Canadian Association of Journalists’ 10th annual Code of Silence award, given annually to the most secretive government agency in Canada.

“The finalists this year were all dedicated to stifling the public’s right to know, but the Toronto police richly deserve this dishonour for the sheer stamina they exhibited in trying to stymie the release of information of clear public interest,” said CAJ President Mary Agnes Welch.

The CAJ’s judges were appalled by the Toronto Police Service’s tenacious refusal to release to the Toronto Star data on arrests and details of incidents in which police stopped and documented encounters with citizens without laying charges. The police waged a seven-year legal battle with the Toronto Star, fighting the release of the information right up to Ontario’s highest court, which ultimately ruled for the Star.

The data formed the basis of a groundbreaking 2009 series in the Star called Race Matters. The Star is still appealing the $12,000 in programming fees charged by the police after the data was ordered released.

The winner was announced at the CAJ’s annual awards gala during its national conference in Montreal Saturday night.

Bryant walks

2010-05-30T03:02:00.000-07:00

Source:Now
Cloud hangs over cyclist’s death despite dropping of criminal charges against former AG

By Enzo Di Matteo

Former Attorney General Michael Bryant was the picture of composure when he walked into a conference room of the Sheraton Centre Hotel Tuesday afternoon, May 25, to read a statement and take questions from the media about the dropping of criminal negligence and dangerous driving charges against him in the death of bike courier Darcy Allan Sheppard.

Pouring himself a glass of water without so much as a hint of nerves – no shaking of the hand or quiver of the lip you might expect at a public moment of reckoning – Bryant calmly and confidently stared down the assembled with the aplomb of a seasoned political pro.

The only hiccups in the carefully orchestrated event: his answers to the questions he knew would be coming about the night last August when Sheppard died – slammed into a fire hydrant while hanging onto Bryant’s car after a minor car-bike collision and a shouting match.

Why did Bryant keep his foot on the accelerator when Sheppard was clinging to the car? Why afterwards did he drive his damaged car to a nearby hotel? Why did he not call police immediately?

We still don’t know, really.

All Bryant could say, before his PR adviser put a stop to this line of questioning, was that it all happened very quickly: 28 seconds.

This moment was meant for contrition, but little of that emotion was shown, much like in the hours after the August 31 incident when Bryant emerged showered and suited from the cop shop, a team of crack PR spinners from Navigator working for him behind the scenes, to read a prepared statement to the press.

From what Bryant said Tuesday, it sounds like he wouldn’t have done anything differently that night except maybe linger a few minutes longer at the Danforth resto he and his wife visited earlier that evening to celebrate their anniversary.

Small consolation for Sheppard, whose vilification in the media continues. It’s now being reported that besides wrestling with the demons of alcohol addiction and childhood abuse, Sheppard may have had psychiatric problems.

It’s hard to figure who’s been on trial in the intervening months, given some of the details that have emerged in the press about Sheppard’s life, through leaks or otherwise – a final indignity from a society that, from cradle to grave, failed the victim here.

Much is being made of the fact that his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit on the night he died.

And he’d had other run-ins with motorists in the weeks leading up to the incident involving Bryant.

It was the latter point that Richard Peck, the special prosecutor from BC recruited to review the case, seized on to conclude that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction and charges against Bryant should therefore be dropped.

Peck explains it this way in an 11-page summation read into the record in court: “No one is entitled to commit a criminal offence because the victim of that offence has a prior criminal record or has engaged in past aggressive conduct. No one ‘deserves’ to have a criminal offence committed against him, regardless of his background or prior conduct.

“The deceased’s propensity for aggressiveness or violence, however, is relevant to considering whether the accused was attacked by the deceased and to show the probability that the deceased was the aggressor in the altercation.”

The alleged prior incidents, half a dozen in all, aren’t exactly air-tight from a defence point of view, but Sheppard’s not here to defend himself, so they’re the only truth, besides Bryant’s version, the Crown seems to have relied upon.

One of these incidents several years ago involved a 76-year-old woman who may have cut him off in traffic. She described Sheppard as “like a mad man” when he chased her car on his bike afterwards.

Another involved allegations made by a woman about a cyclist weaving aggressively through traffic whom she believed to be Sheppard.

A third person who told her story to prosecutors alleged that she witnessed a cyclist riding erratically and appearing to reach into the driver’s-side window of a car to grab the steering wheel. She thinks the cyclist in question could have been Sheppard, but was not absolutely certain.

About the only concrete evidence against Sheppard – that is, evidence that didn’t involve individuals who saw his picture in the paper and went to the Crown with their stories – are photos taken by an onlooker from an office building above an incident in which Sheppard is shown hanging onto a vehicle.

But whether any of these incidents and others would have been admissible in court had the Bryant charges gone forward is debatable.

It’s arguable that none of them are material to the charges.

Sheppard’s actions involving other motorists, whatever they may have been, should have little or no bearing on whether Bryant’s actions behind the wheel of the car that night were justified. Any good lawyer can tell you that. NDP justice critic Peter Kormos has pointed out as much.

It’s Bryant’s actions that are supposed to be on trial, not Sheppard’s. But in this case, most of the onus seems to have been placed on the shoulders of the guy who ended up dead.

The legal test missing in Peck’s legal appraisal is whether it was in the public interest to proceed with the charges against Bryant. Clearly, it was.

Bryant is a high-profile person who was charged with very serious offenses. It should have been left to a judge and/or jury to decide whether his actions constituted criminal behaviour.

As Kormos rightly pointed out in his own press conference Tuesday, “It’s important for justice not only to be done but to be seen to be done.”

Would an average citizen have been accorded the same latitude by the Crown?

Obviously, the cops had grounds – or thought they did – to lay charges.

It’s unlikely they would have jumped the gun on this one, given the media scrutiny the case received because Bryant is a former cabinet minister.

So what happened?

Bryant pled self-defence, telling prosecutors he accidentally hit the back of Sheppard’s bike when the latter veered in front of him while he was driving on Bloor, and then stalled his car when he tried to restart it to move away.

At that point his car lurched forward, hitting Sheppard and causing him to land on the hood. Yet the Crown found that Sheppard “was agitated and angry, without any provocation from Mr. Bryant or his wife,” who was riding in the passenger seat.

Bryant said he panicked and tried to get away as Sheppard tried to climb into his vehicle.

Several eyewitnesses reported seeing Bryant’s car violently swerving and driving onto the sidewalk to dislodge Sheppard from the car.

Peck says their accounts of the accident “vary considerably,” including reports that Bryant was driving at a speeds of 60 to 100 kilometres an hour.

According to expert analysis, says Peck, the vehicle was travelling at about 34 km/h when a fire hydrant on the sidewalk caught Sheppard on his left side, dislodged him from the car and he struck his head on the curb or raised portion of the roadway.

Bryant’s vehicle travelled about 100 metres with Sheppard on it.

But Peck says there was none of the “proof of a reckless or wanton disregard of the lives and safety of others” on Bryant’s part required for a conviction.

Bryant insisted that his is not a story about class, privilege or politics. He said the justice system “bends over backwards” to avoid any perception of impropriety when high-profile people like him are arrested.

“Nobody’s above the law,” he said.

Only there will be no trial, so we can’t judge for ourselves.

enzom@nowtoronto.com

NOW | May 27-June 3, 2010 | VOL 29 NO 39

Police misconduct case delayed again

2010-05-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Source:The Spec

Doel's lawyer needs more time to study disclosure
May 28, 2010
Susan Clairmont
The lawyer for a suspended Hamilton police inspector has asked for more time to review new disclosure he will receive regarding his client.

During a conference call this morning, Toronto lawyer Harry Black requested the matter be put off so he can review a binder of material that he is expecting to receive next week. The case regarding Inspector Dave Doel has been put over a number of times already so Black can examine “voluminous” amounts of information that has been disclosed by the prosecutor.

Doel faces 14 charges under the Police Services Act. The accusations against the 26-year veteran include: having sex on duty; having pornography on his work computer; using police surveillance equipment -- specifically security cameras -- for his own purposes; obtaining access to telephone equipment under false pretenses while on duty; and using a police electronic device on police computers to get members’ personal information.

The next conference call will be held June 28.

Ottawa police officer arrested again

2010-05-27T02:55:00.000-07:00

Source:The Recorder
Posted By RONALD ZAJAC, STAFF WRITER

An Ottawa police officer charged with assault in a domestic incident in Brockville has been re-arrested for breaching one of his bail conditions, city police said.

City police Insp. Scott Fraser said Friday morning he could not reveal any details of the latest incident.

"He had a lot of conditions and he breached one," said Fraser.

"It happened almost immediately following his release."

The accused, whom police are not naming, was in custody and scheduled to appear in Brockville court Friday afternoon for a bail hearing on a separate charge of breach of recognizance, said Fraser.

The 48-year-old officer was off duty Tuesday when the attack reportedly occurred in Brockville, where he lives.

Police are not releasing the man's name "in order to protect the victim's privacy and prevent further victimization, as the charge relates to a domestic situation."

The Ottawa police professional standards unit is also investigating the assault.

The officer had been assigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of the criminal charges.

Crown drops confinement, assault charges against cop

2010-05-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec
May 27, 2010
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 27, 2010)
Charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement against a Burlington police constable have been dropped after a special prosecutor from the Hamilton Crown's office determined a reasonable prospect of conviction did not exist.

Constable Melanie Fedun, 32, was charged with three counts of assault in early March after police investigated a complaint made by a man.

Halton police did not elaborate on the alleged assaults, but said the investigation was of incidents in Georgetown from February to November of last year.

Fedun, a uniformed patrol officer assigned to Burlington, had been suspended without pay.

The special prosecutor withdrew all criminal charges against her last week in the Ontario Court of Justice in Milton.

Two recent Toronto deaths

2010-05-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

Source:TPAC
Two individuals have been killed by Toronto police during the past month. Both deaths have been greeted by the usual police silence about what happened.

Weilaw Duda was killed by police bullets in the port lands on April 19, and the photographs published in the newspapers make it very clear that bullets shattered the windows of the vehicle he was in. Apparently more than a dozen bullets were fired (Duda was unarmed and apparently the incident began because an officer said Duda s car injured him, although the officer was immediately released from the hospital and returned to duty), and there were at least six officers on the scene.

There is a policy in place in the Toronto police service which states: Police officers may not discharge a firearm at a vehicle for the purpose of disabling the vehicle. Police officers may not discharge a firearm at the operator or the occupants of a motor vehicle unless there exists an immediate threat of death or grievous bodily harm to an officer or to a member of the public by means other than the vehicle.

The policy was under consideration at the recent inquest into the death of a youth, Duane Christian, who was shot and killed by police in 2006. In 2006, the policy was worded slightly differently, but in 2008 it was amended to preclude shooting at drivers unless they are threatening death or grievous bodily harm by means other than the vehicle (such as by shooting at people). At the inquest the officer who did the shooting testified that he would act in the same way today in spite of the policy since he disagrees with it. A staff sergeant testified to the same effect.

TPAC has written Toronto Police Service Board members and chief asking for an
an assurance that this policy will be enforced by management. If it had been enforced, Duda would be alive today.

Last week Toronto police officers chased an 18 year old student, Junior Alexander Manon, from a car near York University, caught up to him, and then said he died of a heart attack. Selwyn Pieters, the family s lawyer, saw the body at the morgue and said The issue of a heart attack is a fiction. It seems that he died from physical force.

The Special Investigation Unit has identified the ten police officers to talk to, eight as witnesses.

Junior Manon was a well known and well liked youth in his North York neighbourhood. Hopefully independent witnesses can be tracked down to confirm what really happened. Many in Manon's Jane/Finch neighbourhood will come to the conclusion that this is an example of the ultimate form of racial profiling practiced by police. Events like this, combined with the recent massive raids on racialized and poor neighbourhoods that caught up innocent youth along with a few gang members, will sooner or later lead to social unrest. Will the police force change its ways to diffuse this situation? Will the Police Services Board intervene and show some leadership, by acknowledging these tragedies and vowing to find ways to ensure that police minimize their use of force?

Making sure the evidence fits

When civilians have been seriously injured in incidents involving police officers, the Special Investigations Unit is supposed to be called in as soon as possible in order to separate subject and witness officers and other witnesses for questioning. The SIU and many others have serious concerns that officers talk about events they have seen, agree on what happened, and then write that version of the story up in their notes. There are also concerns about cases where officers do not want to cooperate with the Special Investigations Unit, resulting in interviews that get delayed for a few hours, a few days or even a few weeks.

What has now emerged is that often the officers who think the SIU will want to talk to them, meet and retain a common lawyer. While those lawyers say they play no role in shaping a common story among their clients, legal practice is that a lawyer should share information among those he represents on a case. As the Toronto Star puts it, delicately, in an editorial on May 7, this process opens the door to potential collusion.

Worse, this practise is directly contrary to Regulation 673/98 passed under the Police Services Act. Section 6 of that regulation states The chief of police shall, to the extent that it is practicable, segregate all the police officers involved in the incident from each other until after the SIU has completed its interviews, and A police officer involved in the incident shall not communicate with any other police officer involved in the incident concerning their involvement in the incident until after the SIU has completed its interviews.

Those sections do not provide an exception if the officers happen to share a common lawyer.

The SIU has decided, along with lawyers representing the families of two men who were killed last year by the Ontario Provincial Police, to challenge this practice in a court hearing. Lawyers for the officers apparently will argue that this is not a matter the court needs to decide in this case. The day before the hearing on the motion was to begin, the Attorney General pulled its lawyers who were representing the SIU, from the case, leading to fears that the AG s office had buckled to police pressure. At the time of the publication of this newsletter, the hearing had not been completed and the court had not released a decision.

Bryant charges withdrawn

2010-05-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

Source:NOWMichael Bryant, ex-AG and involved in cyclist death, will not face charges
By Enzo Di Matteo

The Sun is reporting that the special Crown appointed to review charges against former AG Michael Bryant in the horrific death of cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard will recommend dropping the charges.

The reasons are reportedly on the basis that there is no likelihood of a conviction in the case.

Interesting reasoning, given the handful of eyewitness accounts in the minutes following the incident on Bloor where it was reported that the car Bryant was driving looked like it swerved violently before deliberately dragging Sheppard into a mailbox and other assorted street furniture on the sidewalk opposite the direction Bryant’s car was traveling.

While the prospect of conviction in this case may have been on the lower end of the scale – the waters were certainly muddied enough by the campaign of leaks undertaken by the PR firm hired by Bryant to stickhandle the controversy – it’s unlikely that they would have been completely dropped if the person behind the wheel had been anyone but a former AG.

Besides the timing of the announcement, on the day after a long holiday weekend, it’s also noteworthy that the other question, whether pursuing the charges against Bryant would have been in the public interest, is something the Crown will not be delving into to explain the dropping of charges in this case.

That’s probably because that argument would be harder for the Crown to make.

Clearly, it is in the public interest, given what we know about the nature of the incident and the fact Bryant is a high profile person of some influence, for justice not only to be done, but to be seen to be done. And that would mean a trial for Bryant before a jury of his peers to let the chips fall where they may.

Even if Bryant were found not guilty, at least the public would have some confidence that the legal test of beyond a reasonable doubt was met followed in court. Now we’ll never know. More on this story as it happens.

Ex-police inspector guilty of fraud

2010-05-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hamilton Spectator
May 23, 2010
Susan Clairmont
The Hamilton Spectator

A former police inspector who pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing money seized from drug busts claims he gave the money to charities.
Like some kind of Robin Hood, Rick Wills says he took nearly $60,000 from accused drug dealers and anonymously donated the cash to local charities "which support those people in our community affected by the ravages surrounding the illegal drug trade."

Initially Wills -- who once commanded the vice and drugs unit -- faced 54 criminal charges, but pleaded guilty to just one count of fraud over $5,000 and one count of breach of trust. A dozen pages of detailed allegations involving frauds spanning eight years from 1998 to 2006 were read into the record. Despite all that information, not one word was said during Wills's court appearance as to why he took the money.

Outside court, however, Wills gave The Spectator a brief and cryptic explanation for his crimes.

"Seized property assets, " he said. When asked if he was referring to his own case, or more generally to the system of seized property assets, Wills said he meant the whole system, insinuating there is something fishy about it. He would not elaborate.

Wills also confirmed to The Spectator that he wrote a letter that was dropped off recently to the Neighbour to Neighbour Centre.

A man came to the Athens Street centre with the letter and items to donate to the food bank, says executive director Denise Arkell.

Wills writes in his letter that he has "lived and worked in Hamilton for thirty years." He does not identify himself as a police officer.

He writes that between 2004 and 2007 he made numerous anonymous donations to more than 13 charities, totalling about $55,000.

That happens to be the same amount Wills must still make restitution for. He came to court yesterday with a $5,000 personal cheque made out to the City of Hamilton to kick off the repayment process.

His letter goes on to say that "the ledger I maintained to keep track of these donations went missing from my home in 2009 and I now find myself in circumstances where I am forced to identify these contributions." He asks if Neighbour to Neighbour can give him proof they received cash donations for $200 to $300, which were either mailed or dropped off by him.

He includes his photo and telephone number.

Arkell says she checked to see if Wills had ever made any donations to her organization under his name and he hadn't. So she didn't pursue the request any further.

Wills, a 26-year veteran, was one of Hamilton police's highest profile commanding officers before resigning under a cloud of suspicion in August 2008. Soon afterward, Hamilton police called in the OPP to investigate Wills.

While a staff sergeant in charge of vice and drugs from 1999 to 2004, Wills managed the Police Confiscated Funds account, a general bank account operated by the City of Hamilton. Cash seized from accused people was deposited in the account until their case was decided. Depending on the trial outcome, the money would either be transferred to the federal Seized Property Management Directorate or returned to the lawful owner.

But time after time, Wills requested cheques from the police accounting department, saying money had been ordered returned to the accused when it fact it hadn't. He forged the accused's signature endorsing the cheque over to himself, signed his own signature, and deposited it into his personal bank account at TD Canada Trust.

The fraud scheme was extremely unsophisticated. Particularly considering Wills once ran the major fraud unit.

For instance, Wills forged the signature of a man who was currently locked up in Kingston Penitentiary. Twice. For a total of more than $34,000.

Another time, Wills e-mailed the accountant alleging that money was to be returned to an accused. Wills said the cheque should be given to him so he could deliver it personally, since the rightful owner lived at the notorious Sandbar tavern and apartments, a now defunct crack den and flophouse. "If it gets mailed there it will likely go missing, " Wills said in his e-mail.

In a case that does not fit the pattern of the others, Wills signed out an evidence bag containing $2,775 cash seized during a drug bust involving Hamilton police and the Provincial Biker Enforcement Unit. Wills admits he did not give the money to the City of Hamilton for deposit or to the Seized Property Assets.

Wills, who is represented by Toronto lawyer John Rosen, will appear again in October to provide the court with an update on his payments. In January he will appear for sentencing.

Susan Clairmont's commentary appears regularly in The Spectator.

sclairmont@thespec.com

905-526-3539

Government legal team pulls out of SIU case

2010-05-13T04:08:00.000-07:00

Ministry pulls support at hearing looking into whether officers break the law
Source: Toronto Star
Attorney General Chris Bentley is being accused of bowing to police pressure following a last-minute decision to pull ministry support from a controversial court case, which will rule whether officers routinely break the law when dealing with the Special Investigations Unit.

Four lawyers, including one of the ministry’s most senior counsel, had been representing SIU director Ian Scott in the proceedings. But late Wednesday, just hours before the hearing was scheduled to begin, the SIU – an arm’s length branch of the ministry – was told to find its own representation. The SIU investigates when a civilian is seriously injured or killed by a police officer.

MPP Peter Kormos, NDP critic for Community Safety and Correctional Services, said it looks as though the Attorney General is succumbing to police pressure.

“Something is seriously amiss here and it should be disturbing to everyone. The police seem to be able to call the shots with respect to the ministry of the attorney general,” he said.

The ministry did not respond to an interview request.

Scott has asked a judge to find that OPP officers and Commissioner Julian Fantino violated a section of the police act pertaining to SIU probes.

In court filings, he has called for an end to the longstanding practice of officers having their notes and comments vetted by a police union lawyer before being interviewed by the SIU. He has also taken issue with the fact that often one lawyer represents all the officers involved, including witnesses. Because lawyers are legally obligated to share information, Scott has argued police officers are not properly being segregated.

The case, which was launched by the families of two mentally-ill men killed by OPP officers last summer, is significant because although it is focusing on these two incidents, the practice of note vetting is common across the province. If the judge agrees with Scott, it will have widespread ramifications for Ontario’s police community.

Early Wednesday, just hours before the lawyers were removed, OPP union president Karl Walsh sent out an internal memo blasting the SIU and “assistance of the Ministry of the Attorney General.”

“We will not be treated as second-class citizens and demand that the established protections already in place not are tampered with.,” Walsh wrote. “I ask that you pay particular attention to this issue and encourage you to let your elected representatives know about this unwarranted challenge to our rights and our integrity.”

The memo also revealed that the OPP union, Toronto police union, Police Association of Ontario and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police have pooled legal resources to fight the application.

Earlier this week, Bentley said that the ministry had not taken a position on the issue, but behind-closed doors, the police community had expressed anger over the legal support of the SIU.

Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack said the move has nothing to do with police pressure. Ministry of the Attorney General lawyers were representing both the SIU and Fantino in the case.

“So there’s an obvious conflict there, this is the right move,” he said.

Kormos countered that the OPP and Fantino are actually part of the solicitor general’s ministry, so if anything, the conflict is with the commissioner.

“It’s very peculiar. The SIU is a part of the Attorney General’s office. It seems to me that the Ministry of the Attorney General should be representing its own body,” he said.

Chief will discipline police if warranted

2010-05-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

Source: The SpecMay 12, 2010
Nicole O'Reilly

Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire said he has not launched an internal investigation in to what happened the night Po La Hay was mistakenly arrested because it could compromise any assessment by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

But he is prepared to take disciplinary measure if warranted upon the recommendation of the OIPRD — a recently created civilian agency responsible for overseeing and dealing with all public complaints against police in Ontario.

And he said that he has already asked another department to investigate if the agency takes no action.

Speaking at a press conference this morning, he said he has not spoken with nor would it be inappropriate to speak with the officers involved in the incident last Tuesday that left the 58-year-old Karen refugee bruised and bleeding.

These officers have not been identified.

The complaint laid in the Hay’s case came from the public and the chief would not say how long after the incident he learned about the complaint to OIPRD. It could take more than three months before the OIPRD determines if an investigation under the Police Services Act is warranted.

At the press conference De Caire repeated the efforts the police have made to reach out to Hay, the Karen community and immigrant and refugee representatives since the incident.

Statement by Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire

Today, I would like to provide a summary of the activity that has taken place related to the incident that resulted in the injuries to Mr. Po La Hay.

You are already aware that officers completed a search warrant entry and that entry turned out to be into the wrong apartment of an address here in Hamilton.

I am unable to address the issue of what took place within the apartment at this time as this is the subject of investigation and when that investigation is complete, I will be in a position to report on the findings.

On the night of the incident, realizing Mr. Hay was injured, Hamilton Police contacted the ambulance and provided assistance to Mr. Hay which included escorting him to hospital, transporting his family to be with him and arranging for interpreter services. Police remained with him until his discharge and safely transported him home.

Shortly after the incident, I directed members of the Service to attend the family residence and to set up a meeting with Mr. Hay, his family and myself. We were respectful of his desire to utilize members of the local church to assist in setting that meeting up. We were also respectful of his request that he not meet with me but that we meet with his two adult children. At the request of the family, this meeting took place here at Central. I did meet with the community representatives from the church and the two adult children of Mr. Hay and an interpreter.

I offered my apology and a commitment to meet with Mr. Hay, at a time and place, where he was comfortable. My commitment to meet with him in person and to apologize directly has never changed however the meeting has not taken place, again respecting his wishes.

I further met with the community last Thursday night and the media on Friday morning. I have spoken to the family, community representatives, and the media.

Hamilton Police Victim Services was notified and has been providing ongoing support and working with the family and the Karen Community.

At the same time, I directed our investigative staff to commence securing all related reports and evidence, knowing that this case must be investigated and that evidence preserved.

The level of injury that would require a notification of the Provincial Special Investigations Unit was not met and the Service did speak with the SIU and advised them of the known medical information. The SIU has not invoked its mandate.

The Service is aware of the need to investigate this matter, review and report the findings and to take corrective actions, which may include discipline, to ensure that we do not have this happen again.

I am informed that a complaint has been filed with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director which gives primacy in the investigation to that office. We will respect that process. We are awaiting notification of the Director’s position related to the investigation.

I am also aware and support the need for an independent review of this matter. In the event that the Independent Review Director does not decide, after initial review, to maintain carriage of this and investigate, I have already made arrangements to initiate an investigation by another police service.

We have received notification that Mr. Hay is represented by counsel and that notice requires us to deal with counsel in any and all discussions related to the case. We have been in contact with Mr. Hay’s lawyer and we will continue to respect his wishes to communicate through counsel.
I am very mindful of the impact this has had on the wider Karen and other community members and will ensure immediate and ongoing work to repair and foster healthy bridge-building between the police and the Karen and wider community.

We realize this will take time. We are committed to this work which we began in 2008 shortly after the first arrival of Karen community members in our city. We held four separate sessions with the Karen community in that year providing basic awareness information relating to police in Canada.

We continued in 2009 and have already held one session in conjunction with SISO in 2010.

We will continue this critical and necessary dialogue towards enhancing trust and fostering healthy relations.

SIU wasn't called after Hay's arrest

2010-05-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Source: The SpecMay 12, 2010
Nicole O'Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 12, 2010)
Hamilton police did not contact the Special Investigations Unit, a provincial police watchdog, after the mistaken arrest of Po La Hay, who lay bleeding after police stormed into his apartment last week.

The SIU contacted Hamilton police after the ordeal of the 58-year-old Karen refugee from Myanmar was reported in local media more than a day after the incident, said SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon.

But the unit, which investigates incidents involving police that lead to death or serious injury, determined that Hay's cuts, bruises and suspected broken rib did not meet the "serious injury" threshold needed to launch an investigation.

Legal experts, however, contend the SIU's definition of serious injury is not clear and police should have contacted the provincial body.

"It seems definite that the Hamilton police should have called the SIU," said Peter Rosenthal, a Toronto lawyer who has dealt with several cases involving victims killed by police, invoking the SIU's mandate.

He described Hay's injuries as "close to the border" of the how the SIU defines serious injury.

In its formal definition on its website, the SIU says "serious injury shall initially be presumed when the victim is admitted to hospital, suffers a fracture to a limb, rib or vertebrae or to the skull."

Because Hay's injuries fall into a "grey area," Rosenthal said, police should have called and "let the SIU make the decision."

Hamilton police contend "the injury threshold was not met," said spokesperson Catherine Martin. If there is new medical information, she said, they will contact the SIU.

Police Chief Glenn De Caire could not be reached for comment. Martin said he is awaiting a decision by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) and is committed to meeting with Hay.

Representatives for Hay met with police following the incident in which police went to the wrong apartment looking for a 35-year-old drug dealer. Hay has said he is too fearful to meet with police.

The OIPRD is a recently created civilian agency responsible for overseeing and dealing with all public complaints against police in Ontario. The complaint laid in the Hay case came from the public.

It could take more than three months before the OIPRD determines if an investigation under the Police Services Act is warranted. An SIU investigation can result in criminal charges.

"When a citizen complains to an ombudsman-like organization, that should not preclude a proper investigation," said top Toronto criminal lawyer John Rosen, who sometimes works in Hamilton.

The OIPRD complaint provides the excuse to do nothing, he said. He was surprised the chief has not launched an internal investigation .

"The problem with the (SIU) mandate is that death is pretty clear, but serious injury is subjective," Rosen said, adding he would rather see one provincial oversight body that investigates any injury.

noreilly@thespec.com

905-526-3199

SIU calls OPP, Fantino conduct illegal

2010-05-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

Source: CBC.CA

Ontario's top police watchdog is accusing Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino and a number of his officers of breaking the law by failing to properly co-operate with probes into two separate fatal OPP shootings last summer.

Ian Scott, director of the Special Investigations Unit, accuses Fantino of failing to ensure officers promptly notified the SIU of one case last June. In a second incident, Scott accuses Fantino of failing to ensure officers were properly segregated by allowing them to consult the same lawyer and to prepare two sets of notes — only submitting a final version of events vetted by their lawyer.

In an unprecedented step, Scott, with the signed backing of four lawyers from Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General, is siding with the two grieving families.

They together head to court on Thursday to ask a judge to rule that Fantino and his officer broke regulations and the Ontario Police Services Act in their interaction with the SIU.

Family decries OPP delay in calling SIU

Diane Pinder's mentally disabled brother, 59-year-old Douglas Minty, was shot five times by an OPP officer in Elmvale, Ont., on June 22, 2009.

Minty had become agitated as the result of a visit from a door-to-door salesman, and police were called to the house.

"My brother was very loved. He did not deserve this tragic end to his life," Pinder told CBC News. "We are looking for answers as to why this had to happen … and the answers that we've got … some of them have been unbelievable."

The SIU report on the incident concluded a single officer shot Minty five times after he wielded a small utility knife with a 2.5-inch blade. His family is suspicious of this account because the knife found at the scene had its blade retracted in a closed position.

More importantly, the Minty family questions why the OPP took one hour and 23 minutes to alert the SIU. During that time, however, OPP did call in supervisors, a media relations spokesperson and a lawyer from the Ontario Provincial Police Association. The OPP even took two key eyewitnesses away for a debriefing before alerting the SIU to take charge of the scene around the police shooting.

"The scene is in essence tainted. That is not the way it's supposed to work," said the Minty family's lawyer, Julian Falconer. He filed the application that has won support from the SIU and the ministry lawyers asking for a ruling on the conduct of the OPP.

"The commissioner has a personal responsibility to ensure immediate notification so that investigators can do their job," Falconer told CBC News. "How could the family in the Minty shooting have any confidence in what these police officers have done when these kinds of shenanigans happen after the shooting?"

Questions about OPP notes in 2nd shooting

Ruth Schaeffer is a grieving mother who is also part of the court fight against the OPP commissioner. Her son, Levi Schaeffer, 30, who suffered from schizoaffective panic and personality disorder, set off last spring on a bicycle trip from Peterborough, Ont., to Pickle Lake in northwestern Ontario.

On June 24, 2009, he was camping near Osnaburgh Lake when he got into an altercation with the OPP, which resulted in an officer shooting twice and killing Schaeffer.

His mother told CBC News she has been denied "any proper or believable answers" about what happened.

The only two witnesses were the two OPP officers, who, after the SIU began investigating, despite rules demanding they be segregated, both hired the same lawyer.

They both prepared two sets of notes. The first set was supplied to their lawyer for review and were never disclosed to the SIU. Based on those, the two officers then prepared a second set of notes as their official "police memo book" record of events which they did hand over to SIU investigators.

"The idea that an officer would maintain two sets of notes … one that his lawyer sees and provides input on and a second that is provided to investigators simply is unacceptable," said Falconer, who is also representing Schaeffer's family. "This does nothing but fosters suspicions."

In September 2009, the SIU director concluded that in this case, "this note-writing process flies in the face of two main indicators of reliability of notes: independence and contemporaneity." As a result, Scott concluded he could not reach any reasonable conclusions about what actually happened the day Schaeffer was shot and killed.

Scott has written a number of times to complain to Fantino about the use of a single lawyer to represent numerous officers during SIU probes, given that police chiefs and the commissioner are duty bound by the Police Services Act to ensure officers are segregated when identified by the SIU as either subject or witness officers in a serious incident.Fantino refused comment to the CBC while the case is before the courts. But in a Sept. 30, 2009, letter to Scott now included in the court record, Fantino denied any dereliction of his duties.

"Your position as director of the SIU grants you no authority over how police notes are prepared," Fantino scolded. "Direction in that regard comes from a complex interaction of the police service's policies and procedures, legislative requirements and the charter rights of all citizens."

NDP calls on Fantino to resign
Controversy over police co-operation has dogged the SIU since the agency's inception in 1990. Two reports by former judge George Adams identified the need for reviews.

In 2008, Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin (a former SIU director himself) called for a ban on the use of a single lawyer representing multiple officers "avoiding any potential for witness information to be tainted or tailored, intentional or otherwise."

But the court case this week marks a new point in the fierce fight over police accountability, said NDP justice critic Peter Kormos.

"We have a very peculiar, unprecedented scenario where Ministry of the Attorney General's lawyers say the OPP commissioner Fantino broke the law in the course of an SIU investigation," Kormos told CBC News. "It is remarkable and it cries out for Fantino’s resignation."

Lawyers who represent police officers involved in SIU investigations say the practice of representing multiple officers and the use of two sets of officers' notes is a long-standing one.

"It's a tempest in a bad teapot and a waste of judicial resources," said Gary Clewley, a Toronto-based lawyer who has defended police officers for decades.

Last summer, he published an advice article in the Hamilton police union's newsletter, writing, "I was tempted to have a pencil manufactured with the slogan 'shut the F up' embossed on it so that when police officers began to write their notes they would pause and first give me or their association a call."

Clewley categorically rejects ever coaching officers to change or invent stories in their official notes.

The case goes before a judge in a Toronto court on Thursday.

One town's fight with OPP...

2010-05-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Source:SHAWN JEFFORDS, THE OBSERVER

At times Jamie Hahn wondered last year if the Ontario Provincial Police was trying to bankrupt his town.

The mayor of St. Marys, Ont. could hardly believe it when the provincial service asked for a 38% budget increase for 2010, he said.

"We thought the increase was unreasonable and outrageous," Hahn told the The Observer.

St. Marys, a town of 6,400 near Stratford, disbanded it's municipal police service 15 years ago. It was an acrimonious process, but the move was made to save local taxpayers money, said Hahn, a 29-year council veteran.

And for the first two contracts, policing was good and the costs were stable, Hahn said.

"(Then OPP Commissioner Julian) Fantino took a hardline and that was that. The issue really caught fire here and we decided to become quite activist."

The OPP insisted the detachment needed an additional constable to meet minimum adequacy standards, driving up the total cost.

But Hahn said the numbers didn't add up. Inflation was low, the budget for vehicle maintenance and fuel was down, and the number of calls for police assistance had declined.

Hahn said the OPP appeared to believe St. Marys council and it police service board were "captive," with no other option but to absorb the increase and pass it on to taxpayers.

So the town examined the possibility of recreating its municipal police force. And it looked into some kind of partnership with the Stratford Police Service.

"I was born at night, but I wasn't born yesterday night," Hahn said. "I'd be tarred and feathered if we didn't look at alternatives."

Eventually, the town concluded it would cost $1.6 million to recreate the municipal service and talks with Stratford police broke down.

The town and OPP finally reached a compromise, lowering the police budget increase to 14%.

Hahn believes the OPP wouldn't have budged had the town not explored other options.

"If Rogers Cable came to you and said they were going to increase your bill by 38%, you'd be calling Bell to see what they're offering."

Hahn said until last year the town had good relations with the OPP and residents were happy with the service. Policing costs are rising across the province as the OPP moves to a model of full cost recovery from the municipalities it serves. But the model leaves some paying costs they can't afford, Hahn said.

"We're the customer, you're the contractor. What are you trying to do, bankrupt communities?"

Hahn said if Sarnia does disband its municipal force and switch to the OPP, it should also be prepared for officers to be seconded to other assignments.

A skilled sergeant at the In St. Marys detachment was reassigned to assist in the Banditos bikers investigation in St. Thomas. The officer was gone for months, yet the town was billed for 80 per cent of the officer's wages, he said.

"That didn't seem right. What the hell benefit was it for the town of St. Marys for our sergeant to be at the Banditos trial?

Hahn said he doesn't envy Sarnia council and the decision that lies before it. Despite St. Marys' struggles, he says Sarnia should continue with its OPP costing exercise. And if it makes fiscal sense the city should consider taking the plunge, he said.

"It's a tough decision. I'm sure there are a lot of struggling families in Sarnia. Council has to do what's best of them."

sjeffords@theobserver.ca

In part two Wednesday, reporter Shawn Jeffords explores Leamington's experience with the OPP.

Article ID# 2573169

Peel policeman killed in crash was speeding...

2010-05-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Investigators said Friday that Const. Artem (James) Ochakovsky was responding to a non-emergency call for assistance by another officer at the time of the crash.

A police officer doing 47km over the posted speed limit and not wearing a seat belt, not having the emergency lights activated(because it was a NON-emergency call)

Peel police Chief Mike Metcalf called Const. Ochakovsky an ideal recruit while many call him a hero...

If this was a civillian driver, I wonder what they would have been called...

Rest in Peace Officer Ochakovsky

We got wrong man: chief

2010-05-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec
May 07, 2010
Susan Clairmont and Nicole O'Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 7, 2010)
Hamilton's police chief admits they got the wrong apartment and the wrong man when officers burst into the home of an unsuspecting refugee from Myanmar who was left terrified and bloodied.

Heavily armed officers were looking for an alleged cocaine dealer who lives in a different unit in the same apartment building as 58-year-old Po La Hay and his two adult children.

Hay was home around 9 p.m. Tuesday readying things for work the next day at a garden centre when he claims police broke down his door and aimed guns at his head.

"I didn't even have a chance to say any words," he said through interpreter Lerwah Lobo.

Terrified, Hay collapsed to the ground. Officers handcuffed him and asked if he was the man listed on their warrant, he said. When he said, "No, my name is Po La," Hay claims officers smashed his face on the floor and began kicking him. He was scared to move, believing they might be robbers despite the uniforms.

Telling the story, Hay smiles politely and shakes a little. He has stitches above his left eye, a bruised and bloodied nose and red marks along his back and side. He said one rib is broken and he will have to return to doctors for more tests. He looks less than 100 pounds.

"Our officers attended an address to apprehend a party wanted for trafficking narcotics," said Chief Glenn De Caire. "The person we wanted was in the apartment next door. All the right investigative steps were taken and in the end, it was wrong ... We accept responsibility."

De Caire said he met yesterday with members of Hay's family and apologized. He also offered the services of counsellors and to meet again with the whole family.

Hay said he is too scared to meet with police and his only concern is lost wages for time off work.

When asked about Hay's injuries, De Caire told The Spectator he would not comment, saying only that a complaint has been filed with the Ontario Independent Police Review Director (OPIRD) -- an arms-length agency created seven months ago by the Attorney General. It is staffed entirely by civilians and is meant to keep police accountable for their actions.

But in a later statement, De Caire acknowledged that "during the process of securing the residence, a resident of the home was injured. Officers on the scene called for an ambulance and the resident was taken to hospital."

OPIRD "has carriage of the complaint now," said De Caire. Neither the chief nor OPIRD would say who laid the complaint. The next step is for OPIRD to determine if the complaint has merit, and if so, an investigation will begin that could result in a public hearing and discipline.

Hay's 23-year-old son, Say Blut, was in bed and was handcuffed after police knocked on his door. Another man, 21-year-old Panar Noo, was in the bathroom and alleges police handcuffed him, kicked him and dragged him downstairs.

While Hay says he was being kicked and punched, another team of officers arrived and one yelled "stop, stop." The officers did. They didn't apologize, he said. But a couple tried to wash some of the blood from his face.

The alleged cocaine dealer police were supposed to arrest that night was a 35-year-old whose name is not remotely similar to Po La Hay, according to a copy of the search warrant obtained by The Spectator. The apartment unit listed on the warrant is Hay's.

Police confirm that the intended target was later arrested.

A Hamilton detective constable got a "telewarrant" (done after hours and by phone) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday from a justice of the peace in Newmarket. The warrant permitted officers to seize "cocaine, scales, money, cellphone, debt list, packaging and documents."

For Hay and members of the Karen community, the botched arrest threatens their trust of police. The Karen people are a persecuted ethnic group in Myanmar (formerly Burma).

Hay and his family, like most Karen people, was forced into a refugee camp by authorities. This treatment has resulted in common mistrust of police.

While in the camp, Hay's wife died of malaria in 1994. He managed to flee to Thailand with his son and daughter, Ba Blut, now 19. The family became successful refugee claimants to Canada in 2006.

There are about 300 Karen refugees in Hamilton. Most have been here for about three years.

Madina Wasuge, executive director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, called the botched arrest disturbing. "People flee situations that are dangerous and when they come to Canada, the first thing they are expecting is to be safe," she said, adding the actions nullify all the work her organization and others have done.

Fellow Karen and Hay's friend La Pa said her community feels isolated and scared since this incident.

"When we came to Canada, the first people we met were the police and they said you are safe," she said.

Now this incident is giving her flashbacks to her home country.

The raid on Hay's home came at the end of a two-week project by the vice and drug unit intended to target street level drug traffickers. Yesterday, just hours before Hay's family met with the chief, police issued a media release praising the "aggressive enforcement initiative" which also involved members of the BEAR (Break, Enter, Auto theft and Robbery) Unit, Guns and Weapons Enforcement Unit, the Intelligence Unit, the Emergency Response Unit and Uniform Patrol.

De Caire touted the good work of his officers "overall" and the "number of drugs taken off the streets that will not make it into the hands of children."

Most of the activity took place in the downtown core, with 49 arrests made, 100 charges laid and $1.2 million in drugs seized including cocaine, crack, marijuana, oxycodone and the largest seizure ever of crystal methamphetamine.

sclairmont@thespec.com

905-526-3539

noreilly@thespec.com

905-526-3199

SIU and Julian Fantino duke it out

2010-05-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

Source:Toronto Star
Fantino thinks SIU overstepped its mandate

Robyn Doolittle
Staff Reporter

Details of a bitter behind-the-scenes dispute involving the director of the Special Investigations Unit and OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino have been made public in Superior Court.

On Sept. 28, 2009, SIU director Ian Scott announced he was unable to decide if an OPP officer was guilty of wrongdoing in the shooting death of a Peterborough man.

The reason, Scott explained in a news release, was because both that officer and his partner had had their notes vetted by a police union lawyer prior to submitting them to SIU investigators.

Before issuing the release, Scott wrote to Fantino.

“This note writing process flies in the face of the two main indicators of reliability of notes: independence and contemporaneity,” Scott wrote. “In this most serious case, I have no informational base I can rely upon.”

Fantino sent a reply on Sept. 30.

“I am writing to express my concern and dismay over the impact of your recent media release,” Fantino wrote. “If your intent was to inflame an already volatile situation for all concerned, I can now inform you that you have succeeded.”

This exchange and others were filed in Superior Court last week as part of an ongoing legal dispute over how police lawyers do their job.

Across the province, officers involved in fatal incidents have their notes and comments “approved” by union lawyers before dealing with the SIU. In many cases, the same lawyer is dealing with both subject and witness officers.

But, argues Scott, because lawyers are duty bound to share information between clients, this violates a section of the Police Act that calls for officers to be segregated until after being interviewed by the SIU. Notes are also supposed to be written “contemporaneously” following an event.

Because this practice interferes with an individual’s independent recollection of an event, Scott has spoken out publicly about his concerns, sparking outrage from the province’s police unions. Since then, the relationship between Scott and Ontario police associations has become so strained that in January the attorney general’s office appointed a mediator to defuse the situation.

“We recognize that there are bound to be tensions in any system of police oversight, but that a professional working relationship must be maintained in order to best serve the public,” said Brendan Crawley, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office. “To that end we have asked former Chief Justice (Patrick) LeSage, a highly-respected mediator, to work with the SIU and police to improve communications and strengthen their professional working relationship.”

Meanwhile, last fall the families of two men shot dead by OPP officers asked a Superior Court judge to put an end to the long-standing practice of lawyer vetting.

Police associations, the unions and their boards, say police officers have the right to a lawyer under the Charter of rights. Julian Falconer, who represents the Schaeffer and Minty families, says the Charter doesn’t apply to witness officers.

Exactly where the line between the Act and the Charter is drawn has been the subject of much debate.

“There appears to be a conflict between the Charter rights of the police officer and the intent of police regulations and provincial legislation governing law enforcement,” said city councillor Adam Vaughan, who has fielded Scott’s concerns on the Toronto police board. “If that’s to change, it’s going to require a court decision or legislative remedy.”

Andrew McKay, an OPP police union lawyer, says the SIU wants to get around solicitor-client privilege.

“We stand firm that we have done absolutely nothing wrong and that the officers are entitled to counsel,” said McKay, adding “We don’t tell the officers what to put in their memo book.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What they wrote
November 2:

“I am writing to again express my dismay over the impact of your recent media statements… Once again, the inflammatory nature of your statements has upset the officers involved, the family of the deceased and the community. Rather than carry on an self-serving media campaign, I suggest you await the outcome of our investigation.”

—Julian Fantino

November 4

“You comment that the inflammatory nature of my statements has upset yet again, among others, the family of Mr. Levi Schaeffer… If any comments I have made have upset the family, I would be concerned… accordingly, I contacted the counsel for the Schaeffer family and asked him whether I had caused them any upset. I was informed that this was not the case. I would ask that you cease purporting to speak on their behalf.”

—Ian Scott

November 13

“Thank you for your letter of November 4, 2009. Unfortunately, you still seem determined to discount any concerns that have been brought to your attention about your inflammatory remarks… (which) come across as an attempt by you to assume authority and control over something that is not part of your mandate as the Special Investigations Unit director.”

—Julian Fantino

Officer charged with spousal assault

2010-05-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

Source:Ottawa Citizen

Becomes 15th member of force accused of wrongdoing this year

By Dave Rogers, The Ottawa Citizen May 6, 2010

Brockville police charged an off-duty Ottawa police officer with spousal assault on Wednesday, making him the 15th Ottawa officer charged with a criminal offence, discreditable conduct, insubordination or neglect of duty this year.

Acting police chief Gilles Larochelle, who's filling in for Chief Vern White, said that number is about the same as it was in previous years. He added the media were learning that officers had been charged with criminal offences or discreditable conduct because of White's policy of "increased transparency" that started in 2007.

Larochelle said Ottawa police will not release the officer's name, who was charged Wednesday to protect the privacy of his spouse and children. The officer was to appear in Brockville court on Wednesday. He has been assigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of the charges.

The Ottawa Police Service Professional Standards Section is investigating the allegations, and charges may also be laid under the Police Services Act.

Larochelle said six Ottawa police officers were charged with criminal offences such as impaired driving, assault and theft under $5,000 in 2008. Three officers were charged with criminal offences in 2009 and three officers are facing criminal charges so far this year.

Twelve officers face charges of discreditable conduct, insubordination or neglect of duty under the Police Services Act. The force employs about 1,400 police officers and 600 civilians.

Larochelle would not say that the charges represented a growing problem for the force or that incidents such as assault and impaired driving were directly linked to workplace stress.

"The Ottawa Police Service takes the conduct of its members very seriously and holds all sworn officers to a standard that is consistent with community expectations and their oath of office," Larochelle said. "The media is more aware of what is going on internally because the chief wanted this information made public through media releases. We are doing an extensive review of the workload of each officer in the criminal investigation service and did a review of the workload of uniform officers."

Larochelle said the review of police operations was being completed to improve service to the public and was not related to stress. He said the police service was not concerned about the level of stress among its officers.

"It is easy to say that these incidents are stress-related, but I can't say that," Larochelle said.

Another case involves Const. David Dubois, a member of the Ottawa Police Service tactical unit, who was charged with impaired driving and driving over the legal limit on the night of April 18. Dubois was off duty at the time.

Last November, an unnamed 44-year-old officer was charged with two counts of criminal harassment.

The force did not name the officer, saying doing so could help identify the victim and could cause "further victimization."

Another Ottawa officer was suspended in November after being charged with assaults on two youths in South Dundas between February and October 2009.

Ontario Provincial Police, who laid those charges, said the 33-year-old officer was known to the two alleged victims.

Impaired-driving charges were also laid against Const. Martin Dompierre in September 2008. Dompierre had his driver's licence suspended for one year and was fined $1,200 after pleading guilty in a Gatineau court.

Stress was said to be a factor in one notable case.

A psychologist testifying at a police disciplinary hearing in February said Ottawa police Const. Jeffrey Gulick could have been in a state of "toxic psychosis" from drugs and alcohol when he assaulted four fellow officers.

Dr. John Goodman said a "perceived sense of threat" was the trigger to the actions of Gulick, who was charged with discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.

An agreed statement of facts read into evidence when the hearing began in January said Gulick became angry after he failed a use-of-force requalification and was required to turn in his gun.

Gulick went home and began drinking. He told the officers responding to a neighbour's complaint that he drank half a bottle of scotch and a cooler.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Booze cruising off duty officer gets to keep her job

2010-05-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

Convicted constable demoted
Sorce:The Spec

April 28, 2010
Nicole O'Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
(Apr 28, 2010)
A 16-year veteran Hamilton police officer has been found guilty of discreditable conduct and faces a more than year-long demotion following a Christmastime crash and impaired driving conviction.

Constable Kim Walker, 42, was handed a 14-month demotion from a first class constable to a second class constable yesterday after a Police Services Act tribunal. She is doing downtown core patrol while she is banned from driving.

The professional disciplinary measure follows an impaired driving guilty plea and conviction last month. Walker received a 15-month driving suspension and $1,500 fine. A second criminal charge for failing to remain at the scene was withdrawn.

Walker, who was off duty, drove her SUV into a hydro transformer and through a three-metre-tall fence at a Mount Hope townhouse complex around 4 a.m. on December 27.

No one was injured.

Homeowner Cathy Robertson told The Spectator she got out of her bed and saw the grey SUV had smashed through the fence, stopping within a couple of metres of her home.

Police found Walker stumbling and falling along a road around 6 a.m., Crown counsel Brian O'Marra told Ontario Court Justice Bernd Zabel last month. Officers detected "a strong odour of alcoholic beverage" and her "eyes were glassy."

She immediately confessed and co-operated. The first breathalyser at 6:58 a.m. registered 170 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Walker's immediate admission of guilt and otherwise clean record were referred to in the findings. A number of colleagues wrote glowing letters of reference.

"From all of the evidence presented, P.C. Walker has the potential to continue as a police officer and to provide value to the Hamilton Police Service and the citizens within this community," read the findings of Superintendent Michael Shea released yesterday.

Police Chief Glenn De Caire could not be reached for comment.

"The matter is concluded and the decision speaks for itself," said spokesperson Catherine Martin.

During her court appearance, defence lawyer Dean Paquette explained that Walker and her husband had been drinking on the night of Dec. 26 and got into an argument that caused her "to feel compelled that she needed to leave the house to cool things down."

This was a bad decision, he said.

But Paquette also spoke of Walker's quick action to deal with the matter, including immediately paying for the broken fence.

He estimated the collateral consequences will cost at least $20,000.

"So she is paying a very steep price financially for that mistake," Paquette said.

Mike Thomas, president of the Hamilton Police Association, said he has known Walker for years and called her "a terrific police officer" and said her actions that night were "completely out of character."

"She disappointed herself, her family and the police service," Thomas said, but added she has not tried to skirt responsibility.

"I think Kim (Walker) is incredibly remorseful for her actions that night and the mistake will haunt her for the rest of her life," he said.

Walker, reached at her Mount Hope home, declined comment.

noreilly@thespec.com

905-526-3199

Justice for Stephen

2010-05-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Source:Toronto Sun

Family wants answers after man badly injured in confrontation with cops

Columnists / Michele Mandel

This was her late son we were writing about.

Janet Gregory picked up the Sunday Sun last week and read in horror about an unnamed diabetic driver who was allegedly beaten by York Regional Police last year after he lapsed into a coma and was mistaken for being drunk.

She read about how tow truck drivers Rob and Andrea Mileto were coming forward to say they’d witnessed the whole thing and have been harassed by the cops ever since.

About how they were now willing to tell their disturbing tale to the Special Investigations Unit, which had previously looked into the May 14 incident and found no police wrongdoing.

Gregory read the story and wept, for it was her son Stephen who was badly injured that day.

It was her son, who she had just buried, and who would now never see the justice he sought.

Stephen Gregory, the 49-year-old father of four sons, died suddenly of an unrelated heart attack April 15.

Eleven months before, the small business owner was on his way to a Mr. Sub in Woodbridge when he lapsed into a diabetic coma and rear-ended another driver at Hwy. 7 and Weston Rd.

Andrea Mileto was in his tow truck that afternoon and went over to check on the accident.

The impact was so light that there was barely any damage to the other car’s bumper and the air bags hadn’t deployed. But the driver was unresponsive and his eyes appeared rolled back in his head.

Mileto called 911 and said the man seemed to be suffering from some kind of medical condition.

But when police arrived, Mileto says they seemed to become quickly frustrated that the dazed driver refused to get out of the car or identify himself.

His brother was watching from a nearby tow truck and they both claim they then saw one officer pummelling the man’s right arm and shoulder with his baton to loosen his grip from the steering wheel and at least two others punching him repeatedly after they dragged him out of his van and handcuffed him.

It was only after reading the brothers’ account of what they witnessed that Stephen’s family finally made sense of his extensive injuries.

Alan Gregory had rushed to York Finch Hospital after getting a call from police that his older brother had been in a minor fender-bender.

“He was an absolute mess, like he had been beaten up badly,” he recalls, as he scrolls through a CD of photos showing his badly bruised brother. “He had a huge welt on his forehead, bruised ribs and his shoulder was broken and in a sling.”

Stephen told them he couldn’t remember much.

“He had a memory of being pulled out of the van and being on the ground with cuts and gravel on his face and with handcuffs on him,” his brother says. “He was screaming at the officers to remove the cuffs because his shoulder was in extensive pain.”

He says an officer was in the hospital room and apologized for what had happened, saying the police thought Stephen was drunk. But his family and friends don’t understand how that would excuse what happened.

“He was only 150 pounds, he wasn’t a big guy,” says his best friend, Peter Johnson. “Just because people aren’t complying doesn’t mean you do this.”

York Regional Police deny there was any beating, but acknowledge that officers on the scene initially thought Stephen had been drinking and only later realized he was suffering from a severe drop in his blood sugar.

The injured man contacted a lawyer soon after and planned to sue the police, his family says.

“He was bloody angry and he was in a lot of pain,” his mom says. “He wanted to make sure that officers have special training so they can recognize the difference between a drunk person and a diabetic.”

SIU investigator Jon Ansell says they spoke to Stephen but he couldn’t recall much of what transpired. Andrea Mileto was also interviewed, he says, but gave a completely different statement than the one he’s offering now. “We exonerated the police based in part on what Mileto told us,” explains Ansell, who now plans to re-interview the tow truck driver.

The SIU, he says, found the police had a lawful reason to arrest Stephen for failing to identify himself because he appeared impaired and wouldn’t open the car door. “We determined that during the arrest process the (shoulder) injury likely occurred.”

But how can fracturing a man’s shoulder be justifiable?

It isn’t. As they should, his family is calling on the SIU to reopen the case now that these tow truck drivers have come forward.

After reading last week’s story, Stephen’s mother called to thank the Woodbridge men. “I can’t believe how brave they are,” she says. “We think those guys should get a medal.”

And as she says that, she is fighting back tears, wishing her son had lived long enough to know he was not alone.

“I just want justice for my brother,” adds Gregory. “I think they should lose their jobs for sure. Nobody should be doing that. It was absolutely dreadful.”

michele.mandel@sunmedia.ca or 416-947-2231

Police union president fined five days’ pay

2010-05-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

Source:Toronto Star

By Rosie DiManno
Columnist

Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, has been fined five days — or 40 hours — on his conviction of insubordination while a member of the police service.

His defence lawyer says McCormack is no longer a cop and the penalty can’t be extracted. “Mr. McCormack doesn’t work for the services anymore,” said Peter Brauti. “He’s turned in his badge. He’s turned in his gun. He’s paid by the police association.’’

The tribunal prosecutor says McCormack in on secondment to the union and the fine will kick in when — if — he returns to active duty. “You’re a police officer until you resign, retire or die,” said Insp. Scott Gilbert.

McCormack did not attend the sentencing Wednesday morning before Supt. Jane Wilcox, who also presided over last year’s Police Act hearing and found the 23-year veteran guilty of insubordination.

Wilcox accepted Gilbert’s submission that five days was an appropriate forfeiture on the charge, in which he cited similar cases in the past involving other officers. Five days, Wilcox agreed, fit “exactly within the range of penalties” for an officer with a commendable history of service and a high potential of rehabilitation, as well as satisfying the public interest and sending a message of deterrence.

McCormack, who won the union election last October with a narrow margin of 106 votes, told the Star he has no immediate intention of appealing the decision. “It’s an administrative charge, like not completing your paperwork or not wearing black socks with your uniform. I wouldn’t say it’s a blow to my professional reputation.”

He added: “I still believe the tribunal came to the wrong conclusion but I respect the process. I’m glad it’s over with.”

McCormack was charged for running the name of former Star reporter John Duncanson, an award-winning journalist who specialized in covering police corruption, through three law enforcement databases in January 2008.

At his hearing, McCormack testified that Duncanson had called him on his cellphone and requested a meeting. “He (said he) had information for me,” the officer told his hearing, adding that Duncanson told him he was facing impaired driving charges. McCormack claimed he checked the databases “to see if John was wanted or should be in court.”

Duncanson died in January 2009 after a long battle with alcoholism, leaving behind three young children.

Some of the stories Duncanson wrote involved McCormack’s brother, William Jr., who, along with one-time union head Rick McIntosh, had been indicted on corruption charges for allegedly soliciting and accepting bribes from nightclub owners in Toronto’s Entertainment District. Those charges were stayed when Justice Bonnie Croll ruled the two men’s right to a fair trial had been breached by the Crown’s excessive delays in bringing the matter forward.

The father of the McCormack siblings is former Toronto police Chief William McCormack Sr.

At his own hearing, Mike McCormack maintained that he’d checked the databases to see if Duncanson was “wanted or should be in court” before agreeing to meet him. He repeated that rationale Wednesday. “I didn’t want to be meeting John if he was wanted.”

But Wilcox, in finding McCormack guilty of insubordination, said she didn’t believe the claim that he was carrying out police duties when he ran the checks, pointing out McCormack had not consulted the two databases that would have information about outstanding warrants and court dates.

Gilbert alleged the checks were done for personal reasons; Wilcox said, regardless of the reason, she did not believe it was done for police-related cause. “His stated reason . . . is incongruent with common sense, logic and his subsequent actions.”

McCormack was also charged with illegally taping conversations with Duncanson but that charge was dropped earlier.

This was not Mike McCormack’s first Police Act experience. In 2004, he was charged for allegedly helping a friend, Jeffrey Geller — a car salesman with known mob ties — get back his licence to sell cars. He was cleared.

Duncanson’s widow, Kelly Duncanson, was present for Wednesday’s sentencing but took only minimal satisfaction from the outcome.

“When the references were made to previous police officers abusing the database, they were doing it for their own friends or families whereas in this instance Mr. McCormack’s brother was involved in a corruption allegation and McCormack was using the database to keep track of John and his whereabouts. John was living in fear because McCormack would know where to find him.”

John Duncanson, of course, was not alive to participate in the proceedings.

“What would John think?” Kelly mused. “I think there’d be a small degree of satisfaction, knowing that it was recognized that (McCormack) did perform searches outside his jurisdiction.

“But, honestly, John would be worried s---less after this — that they would come get him.’’

A video that says so much

2010-04-26T09:46:00.001-07:00

Pembroke police officer charged in incident

2010-04-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

Source: The Observer
A Pembroke Police officer has been suspended with pay after being charged with impaired driving.

Following an investigation, Constable Shawn Piercey has also been charged with having care and control of a motor vehicle while impaired and causing a disturbance in a public place.

In the early morning hours of April 4, officers from the Pembroke Police Service were called to an incident at the Irving Big Stop. Upon arrival it was determined two individuals had been involved in a disturbance. One of the parties involved was off-duty officer Const. Piercey.

The department conducted an internal investigation and forwarded the results to the Belleville Police Service for an independent review and determination if criminal charges were warranted. Following the review of the facts in the case, Const. Piercey was arrested April 22 by the Belleville Police Service. He was subsequently released on a promise to appear and is scheduled to be in Pembroke court May 25.

Pembroke Police Chief Dave Hawkins commented on the charges in a statement released Thursday.

"When a police officer is the subject of criminal charges it is not only a very unfortunate situation for the officer, but for the Police service as well," he wrote. "It is my belief that the public we serve holds police officers to a higher standard and accountability. In light of that, I feel it was incumbent on our police service to ensure that a fair and transparent investigation was conducted.

"It was at the conclusion of this investigation that charges were subsequently brought forward against Const. Piercey," Chief Hawkins The involved officer, a 10-year veteran of the service, is currently suspended with pay pursuant to the Police Services Act of Ontario."

The Professional Standards Bureau from another outside agency has agreed to conduct an investigation with respect to any potential breaches of the Police Services Act.

Worth a mention

2010-04-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Source:KMOV.com

Illinois state trooper who killed two sisters pleads guilty

In case you have forgotten the double standard by which law is applied in North America, here's a reminder. The elites of society (e.g. law enforcement agents) are held to a far lower standard than the average person; cops routinely get "a pass" or a slap on the wrist on criminal activities for which non-elites serve hard, long time.

The Illinois state trooper who killed two sisters will not have to spend a day behind bars. A judge gave Matt Mitchell a plea deal for ten years ( 30 months each for four counts) probation. Since Mitchell plead guilty to felony charges he will never be allowed to be a police officer again. Mitchell will serve his sentence in Clinton County where he resides. In 2007 Mitchell's car wrecked with Jessica and Kelli Uhl killing them. Mitchell's attorney says his client was justified when he was driving 126 miles an hour just moments before the crash. Prosecutors say Mitchell was sending emails and talking on his phone. Illinois State Police released a statement Friday afternoon regarding Mitchell's guilty plea: "Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of those who were victims in this tragic incident. Now that the criminal proceedings have concluded, the Illinois State Police will move forward with the internal administrative process as expeditiously as possible, and will take the appropriate action that is warranted."

Additional details:

---The two dead girls were 18 and 13 years old.

---Mitchell was "on duty" at the time he drove across a median and killed the teenagers.

---He was not only driving full throttle, he was also "sending and receiving e-mails just 2.5 seconds before the impact....he also had been talking (with his girlfriend) on his cell phone moments before."

---He had been told approx. 6 minutes before the accident that he was no longer needed at another accident scene, which means he wasn't speeding in response to an emergency.

---He had a prior record of reckless driving; this is his 3rd major accident, one of which required a $1.7 million settlement. And, yet, he was back in the driver's seat of a cop car.

---A witness (Navy Chief Petty Officer J.W. James) claims that Mitchell had no siren on while speeding.

---This was on Black Friday, one of the most congested traffic days, during you would think a cop would be more careful than usual.

---At first, the police blamed a car that cut Mitchell off. The car was not found and the police refused to release a description. When witnesses contradicted this account, the police said 'well, may there wasn't another car. Mitchell's video recorder was either not on or not working. Another version said his car was without a Dash Camera, which is standard issue these days.

---It took over two and 1/2 years to work out the probation deal for Mitchell. Nevertheless, this is the first felony conviction in Illinois against a law officer in "a pursuit" that killed somebody. (I know the word "pursuit" is inaccurate but it is the word being used.)

---Two other people, including a pregnant woman, were injured in a separate vehicle.

---The victims' parents agreed to a plea deal on the charge of 'reckless homicide' because "there was no assurance of a conviction at trial" -- that is how difficult it is to convict a cop of anything.

---Part of the family's motive may be a civil suit for $24 million that they have brought against Mitchell and the police department; a guilty plea on his part facilitates a large settlement.

---The prosecuting attorney stated that Mitchell "will likely lose his job with the State Police"; he had relieved him of duty pending trial but continued to receive a salary. That's how they punish a recklessly homicidal cop? -- they give him a paid vacation?

---Why is his dismissal only likely. A guilty plea on a felony is not automatic grounds for dismissal?

What do you think would happen to an average Joe or Jill who killed two policemen or the children of policemen because they were texting while speeding? I suspect it would more than the 30-months probation Mitchell received. And what happens if he breaks probation? Does anyone seriously believe he would be arrested by a fellow-cop, a member of the brotherhood who saw him swig a beer?

Always remember that the police -- and not conventional criminals -- are the main threat to the safety of the average peaceful person. The police are there "to serve and protect" themselves and their employers -- the judicial system.

Dorion OPP ResignsOPP officer resigns before police hearing

2010-04-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Source:Northshore
A Dorion OPP officer charged with production and possession of a controlled substance has resigned from her position as a provincial constable.

Lynn MacKay, 50, was charged in October 2007, after marijuana plants were found in the Dorion-area home that she shared with her common-law husband. The criminal charges against MacKay were withdrawn in February 2009 when her partner pleaded guilty in criminal court.

A Police Hearing Act was scheduled for Monday for a charge of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act, in connection with the incident. But OPP spokesperson Shelley Garr said that hearing was cancelled when MacKay submitted her resignation from the force.

MacKay became an OPP officer in 1993. She spent the majority of her career in London, Ont., before joining the Nipigon OPP in 2006.

She had been suspended with pay since the charges were laid in October 2007.

Off-duty Ottawa police officer charged with impaired driving

2010-04-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Source: Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — An Ottawa police officer faces a charge of impaired driving after a vehicle was stopped on Sunday night.

At 11:28 p.m., off-duty officers stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

A police media release identified the driver as Const. David Dubois. Dubois was off duty at the time.

He faces impaired driving charges.

Dubois will appear in court May 4. He has been reassigned to administrative and the Ottawa Police Service Professional Standards Section has begun an investigation.

"The Ottawa Police Service takes the conduct of its members very seriously and holds all sworn officer to a standard that is consistent with community expectations and their oath of office," noted Ottawa Chief Vern White in the media release.

Hearings for two cops on hold until charges resolved

2010-04-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

Source:The Hamilton Spectator
(Apr 17, 2010)
Disciplinary hearings for two Hamilton police constables charged with discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act have been put on hold until criminal charges against them are resolved in court.

The hearings were put put off at a hearing at the central police station yesterday.

Constable Shawn Smith is facing three counts of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act in connection with incidents between October and Dec. 6 last year, for which he also faces criminal assault charges.

Those charges involve an assault on another person.

Smith is also facing three more counts under the Police Services Act including two counts of insubordination for alleged misuse of police resources on two occasions in November and December last year and one count of breach of confidence.

In a separate and unrelated hearing, a Police Services Act charge of discreditable conduct against Constable Brian Smith (no relation) were also put on hold pending the outcome of criminal charges in connection with alleged harassment and threatening of another person.

Both constables have been informed the Hamilton Police Service may seek their demotion or dismissal.

Hearing the police conduct charges will resume with 14 days notice after criminal charges have been dealt with.

Peel Cop Facing Charges

2010-04-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Source:Am640

4/9/2010

A Peel region officer has been charged in connection with his involvement with an investigation while assigned to the street crime/gang unit. 34 year old Constable Kyle Gatt, who has been with the force for 7 years, has been charged with theft and breach of trust. He is scheduled to appear in court next month. Gatt has been suspended with pay.

Ottawa cop under investigation in hit-and-run

2010-04-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

Source: Ottawa Sun

By KENNETH JACKSON, Ottawa Sun

An Ottawa police officer is under investigation in an alleged hit and run in the early morning hours after St. Patrick's Day.

The sergeant was off duty and had been out with friends before the crash occurred around 1 a.m. on March 18.

Police launched an investigation hours after the crash, involving a vehicle belonging to the Ottawa officer.

The car hit a light post, then a parked car before the driver left the area.

Police said they are trying to determine who was driving the car.

"At the end of the day if it's going to be a bad day for whomever was driving that vehicle it's going to be a bad day," Supt. Mike Flanagan said.

Police have made no arrests or laid any charges.

Flanagan said police are not treating the case any differently than any other.

It's typical for police not to release names of people under investigation.

The case is being handled internally by detectives from the collision unit. The professional standards unit (internal affairs) has not be called in to assist.

There were media reports the officer reported his car stolen, but that claim is being investigated.

Police still have witnesses to interview and are focusing on what happened before and after the alleged hit and run.

kenneth.jackson@sunmedia.ca

Durham officer charged with street racing

2010-03-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

Source: Toronto Star

Durham Regional Police Staff Sgt. John Givelas, shown in a file photo, has been charged with racing/JIL MCINTOSH/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Thandiwe Vela
Staff Reporter

A Durham Regional Police officer has been charged with street racing two weeks after his vehicle was pulled over in Ajax.

Givelas was off duty and driving his personal car when he was pulled over just before 5 a.m. on March 9 as he drove eastbound on Taunton Rd. near Westney Rd.

Selby would not confirm the speed at which the car was clocked when it was pulled over.

However, to warrant a racing charge, Selby said it would have been observed travelling at least 50 km/h over the posted limit of 80 km/h on that roadway

Givelas was at one time a traffic services branch sergeant. Selby would not give his age or number of years with the force, describing him only as a “veteran.”

He has been transferred to a job in a different division pending the outcome of the charges.

“It’s normal protocol to make sure everything’s above board on the case,” said Selby.

Givelas is scheduled to appear in court in late April.

Local police officer charged with assault

2010-03-23T03:16:00.000-07:00

Source: The Record
Record staff
BRANTFORD — A Waterloo Regional Police officer has been assigned to desk duties after being charged with assault.

Const. Gerry Christopher, a 10-year member of the service, was charged in connection with a March 18 incident that police say occurred outside the jurisdiction of Waterloo Region. He was not on duty at the time.

He was arrested by Brantford police on March 18.

Christopher had been working in the break and enter unit in Waterloo but has since been reassigned to administrative duties.

Police aren’t releasing much more information on the incident.

“We’re unable to discuss the details of the incident but in the interest of transparency and accountability we want to ensure our community is aware that one of our police officers has been charged criminally,” said Supt. Steve Beckett.

Christopher has been charged with assault and with being unlawfully in a dwelling house with intent to commit an indictable offence.

A dwelling house is a residence.

He is scheduled to appear in Brantford Provincial Court on May 6.

Police board backs bid for suspensions without pay

2010-03-23T02:59:00.000-07:00

Source : The Spec
March 23, 2010
Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
(Mar 23, 2010)
Hamilton Police Services Board is backing a proposal to permit police chiefs to suspend officers facing criminal charges without pay if a chief deems the offence serious enough.

The proposal comes from a white paper prepared in February by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. The Hamilton board agreed to join other boards in asking Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci to amend a section of the Police Services Act that only permits a chief to suspend an officer facing a criminal offence with pay.

Police Chief Glenn De Caire said there is no particular event that led the chief's association to push for this, but it has been sought for a long time and was recently advanced by Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair. He said the idea is not to penalize an officer who might face charges in the performance of his duties, but for something "so egregious" outside of work, such as charges of sexual assault and homicide.

"Those are cases where a chief needs to have the ability to suspend without pay," De Caire said.

Hamilton has recently had some high-profile cases of officers facing charges related to their duties under the Police Services Act. One former senior officer faces a raft of corruption charges relating to the alleged theft of $60,000 from various police funds, but that officer retired before charges were laid. A couple of Hamilton officers face criminal charges in connection with alleged domestic assaults.

The force has 787 officers.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger called the proposal "a wise step." The mayor indicated it would "calm citizens" who have expressed concern about officers being paid while facing a criminal charge.

"It's a position that's long overdue," the mayor told the board. "I've always been understanding we are tied by the Police Services Act, even when we sit here and say, 'This isn't right.' Clearly, there should be a process to suspend pay."

However, Mike Thomas, president of the Hamilton Police Association, said the proposal "flies in the face of fundamental justice" where a person is innocent until proven guilty. He also has concerns about leaving such a discretionary decision up to a police chief and notes there is no appeal mechanism with a chief's decision.

"To a police officer, anything under the Criminal Code is a serious circumstance," said Thomas.

He notes the white paper, quoting Chief Blair, says the move is not about money. But Thomas points out the white paper includes cases of four Ontario police forces dealing with charged officers and details how much they spent in pay and benefits until charges were dealt with by the courts or the officer left the force. It amounted to more than $1.3 million.

"Don't you think that's strange?" said Thomas. "It is about money."

dnolan@thespec.com

905-526-3351

100k a year for friends of the court...

2010-03-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

In 2004 250 Toronto police officers made over one hundred thousand dollars, in 2009 a whopping 1329 officers joined the 100k club
One fine officer, Michael Thompson is a homicide detective, no doubt concerned with $afety, made $161,892 in 2009 writting traffic tickets, with 62 homicides in Toronto in 2009, was it a slow year?

Who's to blame for this mess?
Politicians eager to gain your vote at the polls, or the police budget demands to keep us safe?

Next time your stopped and ticketed, thank the officer for saving your life, but your going to fight the ticket, and I'm sure the officer will thank you!

McHale brings allegations against two more OPP officers

2010-03-17T02:52:00.000-07:00

Source: The Spec
March 16, 2010
Daniel Nolan
Hamilton Spectator
CAYUGA — Activist Gary McHale has brought criminal allegations against two senior Ontario Provincial Police officers whom he claims obstructed justice.

McHale says Justice of the Peace Lillian Ross laid the charge after he appeared before her this morning in Cayuga court.

He argued using e-mails he received from the Crown in disclosure that Deputy Commissioner Chris Lewis and Superintendent Ron Gentle instructed officers to arrest him in connection with a protest surrounding a Highway 6 smoke shop on Dec. 1, 2007, even though they acknowledged there was no evidence a crime had been committed.

He cited one e-mail from Gentle where the superintendent said “We want to ensure” when the OPP arrest and charge a native protester in connection with the incident “we do the same with McHale to eliminate any of the usual issues.”

Natives and non-natives clashed during the protest and a number of people were arrested.

McHale said Crown attorney David King argued the e-mails did not only say to charge McHale, but also when to charge him.

McHale has led a number of rallies to protest what he calls two-tier justice in the policing of the Douglas Creek Estates land claims dispute. He will be speaking at a rally this Sunday in Caledonia.

McHale had previously succeeded in bringing a private charge against OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino for attempting to influence municipal officials to not attend his rallies, but the charge was dropped by the Crown in February after it took over the case.

McHale’s appeal on that move is in court May 13.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General would not comment because documents had not yet been filed with the courts, but said the ministry was aware McHale’s private prosecution was in court.

It can take a day or two before the documents make their way through the system and then are referred to the police service where the accused resides for the serving of a summons.

Spokespeople for the OPP could not be reached for comment.

McHale said Ross issued a summons for the two officers to appear in Cayuga court April 28.

McHale was charged with counselling to commit mischief for alleging telling a protester to block a street with his truck.

dnolan@thespec.com 905-526-3351

Demoted police officers return to active duty

2010-03-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

Source:IFPRESS
Demoted police officers return to active duty
SARNIA: OPP costing question bigger concern for morale

By SHAWN JEFFORDS, QMI Agency

SARNIA -- The demotion of two Sarnia police officers will have little effect on morale, the chief of police says.

Phil Nelson said the service is turning the page on the "unsavory" incident now that the officers involved have been disciplined.

Constables Patrick Nahmabin and Steven Wyville pled guilty last week to disreputable conduct under the Police Service Act in relation to on Sept. 18, 2008 incident. The pair were arrested after breaking into a Christina Street home in search of Nahmabin's stolen badge.

"It's one thing out of the way we had to deal with," Nelson said. "As unfortunate or as unsavory as it may be, these are situations that have to be dealt with."

The officers are back on active duty but will undergo refresher training before re-joining the service in coming weeks.

Nelson said the ongoing OPP police costing question is a much larger concern for officer morale. The city is awaiting a report detailing how much it would cost for provincial police to replace the municipal force. The document will be released to a local police costing committee on March 29.

"That OPP report is impacting on people here more than anything else," Nelson said. "We're still waiting."

Mayor Mike Bradley, chairperson of the Sarnia Police Services Board, said the RCMP, OPP and municipal services across the country also deal with discipline issues on a regular basis.

Bradley said officers and civilian staff he's spoken to feel that seeking the OPP costing estimate is a slight against their work. Bradley said the costing is not just about dollars and cents, but should be about the work done by Sarnia police.

Sarnia Observer

Halton Officer Charged

2010-03-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

Source:Peterborough Examiner

BURLINGTON -- An off-duty Halton Regional Police officer in Burlington is facing domestic violence charges.

An investigation into the officer and her former common-law husband of two years has led to Const. Melanie Fedun being charged with sexual assault, forcible confinement and three counts of assault. She'll be in a Milton court on April 23.

Fedun has been with the force for eight years. She is now suspended with pay.

Prelim set for officer

2010-03-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

Source: THE DAILY PRESS

Two weeks have been set aside for a preliminary hearing for a South Porcupine Ontario Provincial Police officer facing several charges including attempted murder.

The dates were set aside in the Ontario Court of Justice in Timmins yesterday.

A full week in mid June and a second full week in mid July have been set aside for the preliminary hearing.

The charges laid against, Cecile Fournel, 53, stem from a residential fire in Timmins in February 2009.

She is charged with attempted murder, arson and administering a noxious substance.

The 10-year member of the OPP is currently suspended from duty.

The charges were laid in connection with alleged incidents which occurred which the officer was off duty.

Police mourn slain constable

2010-03-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

=======Provincial Constable Vu PHAM=======

Source: The Spec
Shooting started when police pulled over vehicle on rural road

March 09, 2010
The Canadian Press
WINTHROP, Ont. (Mar 9, 2010)
A provincial police officer was shot and killed yesterday when pulling over a vehicle in rural southwestern Ontario, an incident witnesses said set off a close-range gunfight between the suspect and officers.

Constable Vu Pham, 37, was shot and "immediately incapacitated" after taking the "initiative to intercept" the suspect shortly after 10 a.m., said OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino.

"It is with a sense of loss and deep regret that I'm informing ... that we lost officer Pham. He succumbed to his injuries a short while ago at hospital," said Fantino late yesterday afternoon.

"We are rallying around the family to make arrangements to truly express our appreciation to one of our heroes."

The officer was confronted by an armed suspect when he tried to stop the vehicle near Winthrop, Ont., about an hour north of London, said Fantino at a news conference earlier in the day.

"Officers in close proximity to the scene located the suspect. The suspect was also shot in the incident," he said.

The suspect, who was in hospital, is believed to be in his 70s and charges are pending, said Fantino, adding no other officers were injured in the incident.

Reports said Pham, who was rushed by air ambulance to London Health Sciences Centre, suffered a head injury.

A 15-year veteran of the force, Pham was a married father of three. His wife, Heather, and their sons Tyler, 12, Jordan, 10, and Joshua, 7, were with him when he died.

"(It's) just a very sad time for all of us. And our deep condolences go out to the family, Heather and the children especially," Fantino said.

It's up to the family whether Pham will have a full police funeral, police said.

When asked about the condition of the suspect, police referred calls to the province's Special Invest- igations Unit, which is probing the shooting.

Under the Criminal Code, the murder of a police officer is considered first-degree murder regardless of whether it was planned or deliberate. First-degree murder carries a life sentence upon conviction with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Eyewitnesses said 15 to 20 shots were exchanged between an officer and the suspect from across a two-lane rural road.

"The guy (was) laying in the ditch and the police officer was on the other side of the road in the ditch but he was standing up and they were both shooting back and forth at each other," Faith Weber, of nearby Brussels, told radio station CKNX.

"When I was there there was probably about five, six shots that already went off, and then we had to move back farther and then there was more shots going off."

Weber said more police arrived and the gunfire ended.

"After the shooting was done there was six, seven cops over where the guy was laying in the ditch, and he wasn't moving. I didn't see him moving at all after that."

Pham is the 104th OPP officer killed in the line of duty since the force's inception 100 years ago. Twenty four, including Pham, were fatally shot and one was fatally stabbed.

Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Pham joined the force in 1995 and has worked in the Cochrane and Parry Sound detachments. He was posted to the Huron County detachment.

Police had shut down the two-lane highway yesterday where the shooting took place, an area of farm fields sparsely dotted with homes.

Fantino noted police were preparing to gather today for the funeral of Peel Region police Constable Artem (James) Ochakovsky in Mississauga.

Ochakovsky died of his injuries in a Toronto hospital last Tuesday after his marked cruiser ended up wrapped around a light standard following a collision with another vehicle.

He was the first Peel Regional Police officer to die on duty in 25 years.

Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday's shooting was an "opportunity for all of us just to reflect on how much we count on these men and women every single day to go out there and put it on the line."

Special Investigations Unit spokeswoman Monica Hudon said OPP officers "became involved in a standoff with a man at 82352 North Line in Huron County."

"The man was wounded and has been taken to the Victoria Hospital in London for treatment. Six investigators and three forensic investigators are investigating this incident."

Police officer charged with sexual assault

2010-03-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

Source:Whig Standard
A Brockville Police officer will appear in court March 19 to answer multiple charges in connection with a March 4 assault.

The officer, whose name cannot be identified by court order, was released on bail after a court hearing yesterday.

He was arrested March 4 by area OPP and charged with three counts of assault, sexual assault, forcible confinement, two counts of uttering threats and three counts of breach of undertaking.

Brockville Police Chief Adrian Geraghty told The Recorder and Times the officer has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the trial.

Geraghty said city police issued a press release one day after the arrest to provide the public with information. However, the suspect's name is not being released to protect the victim's identity, he said.

"We're not trying to hide anything. That's why we released the incident," said Geraghty.

He said any detail could tend to identify the victim in a small police service.

Geraghty said the arrest has had an impact on staff and police officers.

"It affects everybody in the service but we'll have to wait for it to come out in court."

Brockville Police Services Board chairman King Yee Jr. said he knows little about the incident beyond the media reports.

"Obviously when something comes out like this it's not something we like to see," Yee said during a telephone interview.

Yee said counselling is available through the police service contract for officers in need.

Article ID# 2482338

Bryant case put over until April 14

2010-03-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Michael Bryant has yet to step inside a courtroom and no one should be surprised.

The criminal case against former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant, charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving, has been put over to April 14.

Brockville police officer charged

2010-03-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

Source:The Recorder
City police have charged one of their own with several criminal offences.

In a briefly worded media release Friday afternoon, Brockville police said an officer was "arrested and charged with several Criminal Code offences" Thursday.

Police said they were not releasing the officer's name "to protect the victim's privacy."

They also did not indicate the nature of the criminal offences the officer is now facing.

"Brockville police will not disclose any further information on this case, in light of the fact that this matter is before the courts," the statement read.

Veteran Toronto Police Officer Charged

2010-03-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

Source:Toronto/AM640
3/5/2010

A Toronto police officer, with 35 years of service, has been charged after two security guards had a gun pointed at them. Police say an off-duty officer pulled up to a security gate of a private residence early Monday morning in his own vehicle. While he was being questioned by a couple of private security guards, it’s alleged the officer took out his police issued firearm, and pointed it in their direction. He then drove away. 58 year old Constable William Hamilton has been charged with careless use of a firearm, pointing a firearm and weapons dangerous.

=====================

Was this officer still suspended or was he off duty?

=====================

Dec 27 2006
Linda Nguyen
Staff Reporter

Source: Toronto Star

A Toronto police officer has been charged with uttering a death threat.

The allegations stem from a telephone conversation that took place while the constable was on duty on Dec. 23, Const. Victor Kwong said.

The officer worked at 41 Division at Eglinton Ave. E. and Birchmount Rd. and has been with the police force for 31 years.

He has since been suspended from his job.

Const. William Hamilton, 55, faces one count of threatening death.

Cop charged with criminal harassment

2010-03-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

Source:The Spec
Charged after complaining against former partner

March 05, 2010
Paul Morse
An off-duty Hamilton police officer spent the night in jail after he was charged with criminal harassment.

In a brief news release, police say investigators had launched a probe into criminal harassment allegations the 29-year veteran officer had made against his former partner.

Instead, police arrested the officer and charged him with criminal harassment. They have not released his name because it may identify the victim.

The officer will appear for a bail hearing this morning.

Cop investigated for street racing

2010-03-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

Source:Sudbury Star

OTTAWA - An Ottawa police officer with a history of misconduct was under investigation for street racing after he totalled his BMW in a crash in May 2008, a police tribunal heard Tuesday.

Const. Umer Khan pleaded not guilty to discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act. The force alleges he was driving carelessly in the 2008 crash.

Khan had left a Manotick party with two other officers and was driving north on Riverside Dr. at around midnight on May 31, 2008, when he lost control and struck a lamppost. The post was found 87 metres away and the vehicle was "demolished," Sgt. Guy Thivierge testified.

Thivierge led the investigation and said an officer informed him another vehicle was involved. He was also told there were reports of street racing.

According to Thivierge's testimony, one of Khan's passengers was Const. Jacky Lord, who began yelling at Thivierge at the scene when he said Khan, Lord and other witnesses should not be talking and ordered them to separate.

Lord said Khan knew him and he didn't appreciate being treated like a criminal, according to Thivierge.

"Don't make this worse than it needs to be," Thivierge replied.

Khan was calm, Thivierge said.

Thivierge testified that Khan said he had been driving 90 km/h, 30 km/h above the limit. He also said he had balding tires. Thivierge testified the roads were wet.

Thivierge told the hearing that Khan said he hadn't been drinking and couldn't provide information on the other car even though it was being driven by a friend of his.

Thivierge said he told Khan he could be charged with dangerous driving, careless driving or street racing. Khan was charged with careless driving and later pleaded guilty to driving 29 km/h over the limit and having balding tires.

The defence and prosecution will make final submissions Wednesday at police headquarters on Elgin St.

Khan has appeared at multiple police hearings since 2006. One case ended in an acquittal. A dangerous offender also put a gun to Khan's head and pulled the trigger in May 2005. The Colt .38's chamber was empty.

kenneth.jackson@sunmedia.ca

Article ID# 2475120

Retired officer used ruses to gain access to boys: Crown

2010-03-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Source:Caledon Enterprise

Thursday March 4 2010
By Mary Riley, Metroland Staff

The Crown attorney prosecuting the case against a retired OPP officer charged with dozens of historical sex offences against teenage boys described him as an opportunistic man who used specific "ruses" to gain access to them.

Mary Ellen Cullen delivered final submissions in the trial of Robert George (Bob) Lewis in Brampton on Feb. 25.

Mr. Lewis, 62, of Fenelon Falls, faces 25 sex-related charges involving 10 males that date back to the 1970s. He was charged in 2006 after Caledon OPP launched an investigation.

During his 30-year career with the OPP, he was posted to Downsview, Islington, Snelgrove (now Caledon), Minaki and Coboconk. He retired in 1997.

His trial began before Justice Joseph Fragomeni in Orangeville last May, and after court scheduling forced a delay, his defence began last November. A publication ban prevents publishing any details that could identify witnesses.

Last week, family and friends of some of the complainants and the Lewis family listened as Ms Cullen rebutted statements by defence lawyer Leo Kinahan earlier in the week.

In his final submissions, Mr. Kinahan said the evidence against his client was fraught with inconsistencies and was at times outright lies. He maintained there is "zero corroboration" for any of the allegations against Mr. Lewis and he constantly referred to multiple versions of alleged incidents of fondling, masturbation and oral or anal sex assaults.

Although most of the complainants do not know each other, a few do, and Mr. Kinahan suggested some could be trying to "help" others by testifying against Mr. Lewis.

Ms Cullen told the Court the law says judges must consider if there is an "improbability of coincidence" in the evidence. She insisted there has been no collusion and denied Mr. Kinahan's charge that the Crown hopes to convict based on the number of complainants in the case, saying, "This is not about a bunch of people who got together to 'get' Bob Lewis because he gave them speeding tickets."

Rather, Ms Cullen pointed out, these are "very brave men" who finally found the courage "to confront a police officer."

"I don't know how anyone in this case found the fortitude to come forward and [take on] a respected member of the community and an OPP officer," she said.

Normally soft spoken, Ms Cullen's voice gained strength as she accused Mr. Lewis of being evasive and vague on the stand. Citing several parts of his evidence, she told the Court he "fabricated" parts of it and deliberately avoided giving straightforward answers when he was cross-examined.

Ms Cullen described Mr. Lewis as "a great guy" whom everybody liked and respected as a police officer, family friend and neighbour. But, she painted a darker portrait as she described several of the alleged sexual assaults on the teenagers, saying Mr. Lewis used "ruses" to gain access to the boys.

Many of the alleged incidents happened while he was on duty, in places that included police cars, remote rural roads and the complainants' family homes. Ms Cullen cited one complainant's story that Mr. Lewis came to his home one night while the boy was home watching a hockey game with his parents. Court heard during the trial that Mr. Lewis pretended to "arrest" the boy as a joke, handcuffing him and putting him into his cruiser. He then drove the handcuffed teenager to a secluded area and touched his groin.

When he took the boy home, court heard, he stayed for awhile watching the hockey game.

But, Ms Cullen said Mr. Lewis testified he does not like hockey at all, and there was no reason for him to stay other than to "make sure [the boy] didn't say anything about what happened to him."

Ms Cullen said Mr. Lewis used his position as a police officer and a friend to many of the complainants' parents to gain trust, but also capitalized on the fact that none of the boys assaulted at his hands would accuse a police officer. She said the witnesses' testimony revealed details that were similar in the incidents, such as teaching police moves, wrestling, drying someone off after swimming and driving in police cars.

He used these "ruses" to touch the boys, she said, and if they didn't resist, the assaults would "become more intrusive." She said several witnesses testified Mr. Lewis had told them to "keep quiet" about the alleged incidents.

Ms Cullen addressed Mr. Kinahan's statements about witnesses who couldn't remember "major details" of the assaults. She insisted the witnesses were being "fair to the Court and to Mr. Lewis" by not embellishing or testifying to details they couldn't remember. When they could have easily boosted the number of incidents, she said, they instead focused on the ones they could clearly recall.

The Crown noted all of the complainants had "anchors," details of the incidents that fixed them in their minds, and there are similarities in their statements that revealed Mr. Lewis's "patterns of abuse he's used since the 1960s."

The Crown accused Mr. Lewis of "doing everything he could" to avoid admitting anything that could corroborate a witness's evidence, and observed his police notebooks are unreliable because he did not record when he stopped at private homes or took any of the boys for rides in a cruiser.

"But, he wouldn't put that in his notebook because he wasn't supposed to be doing those things on duty," she said.

When describing Mr. Lewis's alleged serial molestations of one complainant, Ms Cullen pointed out that years later, Mr. Lewis attended a funeral of one of the boy's family members. At the family home after the funeral (court heard at trial), the teenager took Mr. Lewis out behind a shed to show him a snowmobile he'd built from parts, and Mr. Lewis, the Crown said, again tried to touch the teenager.

"He even used a family funeral with lots of people nearby as an opportunity to take a young man to a private area and try [to touch him]."

Ms Cullen challenged Mr. Kinahan's claim that the Crown is "piling on" numerous complainants to gain a conviction in the case. Citing one witness who she said is angry and extremely reluctant to describe numerous alleged assaults at Mr. Lewis's hands, she said the man "struggled for years to try and come forward, but just couldn't."

"And, one day, he was driving in his car with his wife and heard on the radio that a retired police officer had been arrested and charged...and, he turned to his wife and said, 'It's Bob Lewis'," she said. "How would he know that?"

Ms Cullen said many of the men "didn't want to be the only one" to come forward and accuse a police officer, but many had said if one ever did, they would, too.

And, she pointed out that Mr. Lewis's height, build and presence as a police officer intimidated teenage boys who were fearful of telling anyone what happened to them. In small communities where Mr. Lewis was well-known and friends of many of the complainants' parents, she noted, the boys didn't feel they could speak out.

The Crown said that of course, there are inconsistencies in the witness's statements, especially to police, as, for many of them "it was the first time these words ever came out of their mouths; the first time they ever told anybody about what happened."

But, she urged the judge to consider that the inconsistencies must be considered not individually, but as a whole.

"You can look at that tree and see it's missing a branch," she said. "And, you can look at [another] tree and see it's missing a branch. But, if you have tree, tree, tree, tree - you're going to see the forest."

Ms Cullen will complete her submissions on Friday.

Police officer dies after late-night crash in Brampton

2010-03-03T03:50:00.000-08:00

Source:CP24
TORONTO — Peel police say an officer injured in a crash Monday night in Brampton, Ont., has died.

Police say the officer was critically injured around 11 p.m. Monday when his marked cruiser collided with another vehicle.

The officer, who has not been identified, suffered severe injuries when the cruiser then slammed into a light standard.

The driver of the other vehicle was not seriously injured.

The officer was first rushed to a nearby hospital and later transferred to Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto.

Peel Police Chief Mike Metcalf has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning.

OPP officer charged with assault

2010-03-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

Source:StandardFreeholder

CORNWALL - A provincial police officer based in SD&G has been charged with assault.

The OPP identified the officer as a 52-year-old man who has worked in the provincial law enforcement service for 16 years, but did not provide a name.

An investigation into the alleged incident in December 2009 began on Feb. 26 by the OPP Professional Standards Bureau.

The officer was off-duty at the time of the incident.

He was arrested and charged with assault, then released on a promise to appear in court under officer undertaking conditions.

The officer is still on duty, but assigned to administrative duties.

He is due back in court on Mar. 23

Dog defence fund set up

2010-02-27T04:58:00.000-08:00

Source:Brampton Guardian
By PAM DOUGLAS
|
Feb 26, 2010 - 3:59 PM

A fund has been set up to help pay the legal fees of the Brampton families trying to free their dogs from the city pound.
Brittany and Rambo have been held by the City of Brampton since being seized from their homes Jan. 13. Brittany is owned by Rui Branco’s family and he hired a lawyer last month who will take the case to court. Branco is trying to prove to the city that the dogs are boxer/American bulldog mixes. The city has labelled them “pitbulls”, which were banned by provincial legislation four years ago.
Donations can be made at www.saveontariodogs.com, or at any branch of the TD Bank, transit number 02622, account number 78766538796.
Meanwhile, supporters who have been trying to draw city politicians into the controversy have now reached out to Mississauga city councillors for help. They say Brampton councillors can learn something about compassion and doing the right thing from their colleagues to the south.
That’s because two years ago, Mississauga animal control officers impounded a dog that had escaped from its home and was reported running loose. His name was Rambo, too, he was labelled a pitbull and his owner was also denied visits to see him.
But Mississauga councillors intervened, saying it was only right to allow his owner to visit him. They unanimously passed a motion directing city staff to allow her to visit.
Now, supporters of Brittany and Rambo are trying to let Brampton councillors know that, despite a city staff warning that they can’t interfere in a legal matter, they can do something— allow the dogs’ families to visit.
“City-owned pounds should be showing people how to treat dogs by example,” Mississauga Councillor Carolyn Parrish said at the time of the Mississauga issue. “It’s not going to be thousands of people. We only have one incarcerated dog right now.”
Visits were prohibited at the Mississauga pound, but councillors changed that policy so exceptions could be made.
Mississauga Councillor George Carlson called allowing the visit “a measure of our humanity”.

OPP officer charged after Moosonee fight

2010-02-25T21:02:00.000-08:00

Source:CTV.CA
Updated: Thu Feb. 25 2010 11:40:03 AM

The Canadian Press

MOOSONEE, Ont. — Two more people including a provincial police officer have been charged with assault after an alleged fight at a house party in Moosonee.

Police say there was an altercation at the party on Oct. 3 and the following day, a woman was charged with assault.

After further investigation, police have charged Const. Tim Burgess, 45, with assault and Sharleen Burgess, 44, with assault and assault with a weapon.

Police won't say if the pair is related, but both live in Moosonee.

The charges were laid after two people sustained minor injuries at the party.

Const. Burgess, who has been with the force for 22 years and is stationed in Moosonee, was off duty at the time of the alleged incident.

Both are scheduled to appear in provincial court in Moosonee on April 7.

SIU charges officer four years after alleged assault

2010-02-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

Source: Toronto SunBy ROB LAMBERTI, Toronto Sun (yes Rob Lamberti did really write this)

Last Updated: February 25, 2010 8:37pm

Shayne Fisher is getting his day in court.

The crane operator was acquitted of firearms charges in 2008 after he was arrested by Toronto Police drug squad officers during a 2006 raid.

Fisher suffered a perforated eardrum, a broken rib and bruising during the arrest, and Thursday the Special Investigations Unit charged Det.-Const. Gerrard Arulanandam with assault causing bodily harm.

This case is unique because the SIU didn’t know about the injuries until Superior Court Justice Brian Trafford ruled Fisher and his co-accused, Valter Almeida, then 23, were physically abused by police during the arrest.

The two were acquitted of all charges by Trafford, who ruled in his judgment that “clearly, the defendants were physically abused by the (Toronto Police Service) when they were arrested on June 7, 2006 ... Other legal rights, such as the right of Mr. Fisher to retain and instruct counsel, were also infringed.”

“I’m kind of happy, as weird as that sounds,” Fisher, 26, said Thursday. “It’s not a bad feeling.

“It’s not good to be happy that anybody gets charged, but justice takes a while here, I guess.”

Fisher was in the apartment of an acquaintance in the same Lawrence Ave. W. apartment building he lives in when police rushed in executing a warrant.

Steve Ruiz pleaded guilty to weapons and drugs charges.

The two years between being charged and being freed was “s----y. It’s not a good feeling,” Fisher said.

“It’s like I had two years of my life taken away.”

Fisher believed that when the cops rushed into the apartment he’d be considered a found-in and later be released.

“Unfortunately, no, it’s not like that,” he said.

Fisher said he wants “justice to take it’s course. Whatever happens, happens.”

His lawyer, Allan Lobel, said Fisher had no criminal record, suffered serious injuries in the raid and his eyes were swollen shut.

“In this case, (Fisher) was absolutely clearly innocent,” Lobel said. It wasn’t a case that the Crown lost because of a technicality, he said.

“The crime here, if you may, is that cops did this and then the buddy system kicked in. That’s the story here.”

Police said three guns were tossed from the third-storey balcony during the drug raid and almost hit an officer watching from below.

“They nearly hit me in the head,” Sgt. Don MacCallum told the Toronto Sun in 2006. “They were absolutely guns. They were cocked and the safety was off.”

MacCallum, now retired, is before the courts in Peel charged with sex-related offences that allegedly occurred between 1996 and 2003 involving girls aged five to 15. He wasn’t called as a witness in Fisher’s trial.

Toronto Police union president Mike McCormack said the association stands behind the officer and is instead concerned about “the conduct of the SIU.”

“This is four years after the event, the officer was doing his job,” he said.

The association will be looking at SIU to see if it’s fulfilling its stated mandate of investigating “Ontario’s police services by assuring the public that police actions resulting in serious injury or death are subjected to rigorous, independent investigations.”

McCormack is concerned if “they’re charging our officers for political allegiance or any other thing than based on factual evidence.

“All I can say, looking at the way the SIU has been dealing with our members, there are some concerns and we’re going to wait until this goes to court and the evidence comes out,” McCormack said. “We’ll be monitoring this very closely.

“We already looking at a number of cases and this will be another case that we’re going to be looking at.”

Port Hope officer sentenced to probation on assault charge

2010-02-23T21:32:00.000-08:00

Source:NORTHUMBERLAND TODAY
Port Hope Constable John Kelly Steeves should be able to continue on his job, in spite of probation conditions imposed upon his plea of guilty to an assault charge Friday in the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg.

Breach-of-condition charges were withdrawn against the 51-year-old accused, in spite of the fact that he admitted breaching a condition forbidding any intake of alcohol by ordering and consuming a bourbon at a licensed Port Hope establishment last October.

The ban was a condition of his release after he was arrested last March and charged with assaulting his common-law spouse.

Last March 17, Crown attorney Jim Hughes explained, a female police officer who was a friend of the victim passed along information of the incident to another female police officer and asked her to look into it.

When contacted on March 18, the victim said she had been concerned about Steeves's drinking. He was apparently intoxicated on March 15, when they began to argue.

During the course of the altercation, he grabbed her by the arm hard and squeezed it, and also yelled at her.

She still had bruising on her upper left arm when she spoke with the police officer, but did not want to pursue the matter. She changed her mind after March 20, when Steeves showed up at her residence and behaved in an intimidating manner.

"It was a difficult time for everybody involved," Hughes acknowledged, including the fact that officers who showed up to arrest Steeves were his own professional colleagues.

Steeves's record includes a prior breach-of-condition conviction from 2007, the Crown added. For that reason, the nature of the domestic nature of the assault and the alcohol problem (and given that alcohol can act as a disinhibitor), Hughes asked for a weapons prohibition and a DNA order.

In ordering a conditional discharge and a three-year probation, Justice William Babe agreed with the DNA order. But he advanced the opinion that a weapons prohibition could compromise Steeves's ability to carry out his job, which he has held for more than a decade.

So could an order to remain away from the victim in a small town like Port Hope, Babe added.

The victim has since lost the house they shared, but she has found a new apartment near her place of employment. As a result, Babe noted, Steeves's release conditions ordered him not to be in the area of Port Hope bounded by Walton St. to the north, Pine St. to the west, Queen St. to the east and Augusta St. to the south. Except when required to be there by his job, Babe ruled, Steeves will be forbidden by the conditions of his probation to be in that area.

He must also remain away from her at all other times and locations as well.

As for the firearms prohibition, Babe opted in favour of a probation condition that forbids the possession of any weapon by Steeves except when required by his job to carry one.

Hughes noted that two long guns had been seized from the accused's residence, and he was not aware whether they were properly licensed or whether Steeves had proper clearances to acquire them. At any event, he said, they will remain with the Port Hope Police Service for now.

Defence counsel Marc Bebee said that his client had already begun counselling on his own to address his alcohol problem.

Babe ruled that other counselling be part of his probation, including the Partner Assault Response Service program plus any other counselling -- such as alcohol or anger-management counselling -- his probation officer deems advisable.

cnasmith@northumberland today.com

Defence dismantles testimony in trial of retired OPP officer

2010-02-23T21:18:00.000-08:00

Source:My Kawarthra
Mary Riley
|
Feb 23, 2010 - 8:45 AM

Defence counsel for a retired OPP officer accused of dozens of historical sex-related offences continued to dismantle the testimony of one of the first witnesses in the case.
Leo Kinahan, representing Robert George (Bob) Lewis, is currently delivering final submissions in a Brampton courtroom before Justice Joseph Fragomeni.

Mr. Lewis, 62, of Fenelon Falls, was charged in 2006 with 25 sex-related offences dating back to the 1970s.

Many of the incidents allegedly occurred while on duty during his 30-year career with the Ontario Provincial Police. He was posted to Downsview, Islington, Minaki, Caledon and Coboconk before retiring in 1997. Caledon OPP began the investigation in 2006 after 10 male complainants came forward.

A publication ban prevents the publication of any details that could identify the witnesses.

Mr. Kinahan began his submissions Monday (Feb. 22). He began by attacking the credibility of two of the early witnessess in the trial, which began last May and concluded in December.

One witness had testified that Mr. Lewis molested him when he was a teenager while giving him a ride from his home in southern Ontario to visit friends in northern Ontario. During the trial last year, court heard the teenager was molested in the car and in a motel where the two spent a night on the trip.

The man alleged his descent into a life of alcohol and drug abuse was a direct result of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Mr. Lewis.

But, on Monday, Mr. Kinahan made it clear that historical sexual assault cases are dependent on the accuracy and veracity of witnesses' memories, and he challenged the fairness of such trials when the memory of the accused is also faulty. He told the court the number of inconsistencies in the man's testimony is "monstrous," accusing the witness of saying "whatever comes into his head" and that there are serious discrepancies in testimony the man gave to police at the preliminary hearing in 2008 and at trial.

Mr. Kinahan said the witness often used the phrase "I'm pretty sure" when answering specific questions about his allegations; questions the lawyer said "were not difficult." He continued to remind the court that when someone is accused of such serious crimes, "pretty sure" isn't good enough. He said the inconsistencies revealed in the testimony of most of the witnesses in the trial should be "disturbing" to the court.

Mr. Kinahan pointed out that nobody's memory is perfect and that it stands to reason a witness may be mistaken on what he called "minor" details, such as a specific date or a description of what was inside a room where an alleged offence took place. But he made it clear that "some details are not major points but they become significant in the overall assessment of credibility."

He told the court that an honest admission from a witness that he could not remember a given detail is preferable to giving "multiple versions" of an answer.

The lawyer attacked the man's testimony in which he said that when he and Mr. Lewis stayed in the motel, the "only" incident that occurred was fondling. That story, Mr. Kinahan said, later changed to allegations of anal penetration attempts and forced oral sex, "escalating" in different versions.

"How does one get that confused...four different versions on four different occasions?" Mr. Kinahan asked. "These aren't minor...they are major, major encounters."

He pointed to testimony in which the witness testified that some of his prior statements to investigating police and at the preliminary hearing were not consistent with his testimony at trial.

"Even on the most inconsequential things...he can't keep it straight. He will say the first thing that comes to his mind. If he had got up and said, 'Maybe some of the things I said yesterday weren't quite accurate,' it would be different.

"How does one forget [such sexual molestation]?" he continued.

Citing one point where the witness had testified, "Maybe I don't want to remember," Mr. Kinahan said, "This is not a shot at [the man]...maybe it's something [he] thinks happened through his years of alcohol and drug abuse."

Mr. Kinahan said trying to reconcile the man's initial statement to police and testimony at the preliminary hearing and trial could take days.

"It's impossible to keep track of the inconsistencies...for the sake of brevity, I'm bypassing a significant number of contradictions. It's astounding.

"Even when confronted with his own words, he won't give a straight answer or acknowledge an inconsistency."

Submissions continue this week. .

Police chiefs seek flexibility on paying suspended officers

2010-02-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Source:The Observer
CATHY DOBSON

The Observer

Ontario's chiefs of police should have the right to suspend an officer without pay if a criminal offence is committed during off-duty hours, say Sarnia's mayor and police chief.

Chief Phil Nelson and Mayor Mike Bradley said Monday they support a new white paper submitted by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) recommend the province amend the Ontario Police Services Act.

"It's a very touchy situation with the public," Chief Nelson said. "They're greatly concerned about officers collecting their pay while sitting at home doing nothing for a long period of time."

Many people don't realize the Police Services Act currently prohibits suspensions without pay, Nelson said.

Unlike most Ontario workplaces, the employer has no discretion to decide if wages should be paid when an officer is under suspension for an off-duty offence.

Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and New Brunswick have already amended their police-related legislation to allow for suspensions without pay in certain circumstances.

The OACP has been lobbying the Ontario government for years for similar amendments with no results.

Sarnia currently has three officers suspended with pay. All are first class constables earning a minimum of $83,000 a year, plus benefits.

They include Const. Steven Wyville and Patrick Nahmabin who received discharges from the court last September after being unlawfully in a home, where they were looking for Nahmabin's stolen badge. The discharges left both veteran officers without criminal records and no jail time.

Unless an officer is sentenced to jail time, the Police Services Act does not allow pay to be withdrawn.

Wyville and Nahmabin continue to be suspended while they wait for a Police Act hearing in March, which could result in internal discipline.

A third unnamed officer, charged in November with sex crimes involving children, is also suspended with pay.

"I have no choice but to suspend them with pay. I am bound by the Act," said Nelson. "The general consensus with chiefs of police across the province is that they want the legislation changed so that they may, case by case, be able in certain situations to suspend officers for incidents that occur off-duty, as opposed to on-duty."

Mayor Bradley, chairman of Sarnia's police services board, agrees.

"When it comes down to an incident off-duty, it would seem to me to be fair and reasonable for a chief to have discretion," he said. "They may not exercise it, but they'd like to have it."

The integrity of policing is compromised in the public's view if a chief can't suspend an officer without pay in extraordinary circumstances, Bradley added.

Marc Toutant, representing the Sarnia Police Association, said he hasn't read the white paper yet but is aware of the public backlash whenever an officer is suspended with pay.

"My concern is that if a person is found not guilty, what then?" Toutant asked. "I also wonder if an officer would be entitled to seek employment elsewhere if suspended without pay." He said the police association has yet to take a position on the issue.

Sarnia's Police Services Board will receive the white paper for information only on Thursday during its regular monthly meeting at police headquarters.

cdobson@theobserver.ca

Olympic RCMP officer charged

2010-02-23T03:48:00.000-08:00

Source:sympatico.ca
An RCMP officer assigned to security duties for the Winter Olympics has been charged with theft under $5,000 in connection with an alleged shoplifting incident in Burnaby, B.C.

Charged was Staff Sgt. Suzanne Martel, a 19-year RCMP veteran stationed in Ottawa who had been temporarily seconded to the Integrated Security Unit, the combined force performing security duties for the Games.

The charges against Martel were confirmed late Friday by Robin Baird, a Crown counsel with B.C.'s Justice Branch.

The theft allegedly occurred Feb. 11 at a Winners clothing store in Burnaby.

The officer was among 11 members of the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) in Vancouver who have been relieved of their duties. Most of them have been sent home for unspecified disciplinary infractions, including two who remain under investigation by the Vancouver Police Department.

Police have not released details about most of the investigations or the identity of the officers involved, but last week it was revealed six members of the ISU were removed from the Olympic unit, including two RCMP members and four Canadian Forces personnel.

On Friday, ISU spokesman Sgt. Mike Cote confirmed that five more police officers have since run into trouble and been sent home, bringing the total to 11, including the two still under investigation.

But Cote bristled at the suggestion of discreditable behaviour by officers who are billeted aboard cruise ships docked in Vancouver.

"I'd like to make it clear right here, right now, there's been allegations of sex-trade workers being brought on the ship and so on. I can emphatically state today that is absolutely not true. None of those incidences ever took place," he said.

He said it has been "disturbing" to have the unit painted with such a brush.

The ISU is made up of about 3,000 police officers from Metro Vancouver and about 6,000 police officers and military personnel from out of town who are lodged on the ships for the duration of the 2010 Winter Games. The cost of the force is about $1 billion.

The Games wrap up in Vancouver and Whistler on Feb. 28.

Bentley won't rule out giving Caledonia land to Six Nations

2010-02-23T03:42:00.000-08:00

Source:The Spec
February 23, 2010
The Canadian Press
TORONTO (Feb 23, 2010)
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Chris Bentley isn't ruling out the handover of disputed land that's been the site of a long-running aboriginal occupation in Caledonia to the Six Nations.

"No decisions have been made with respect to the land," Bentley told the legislature yesterday.

"We continue to work very, very hard as a province, trying to bring everybody to the table and look forward to an ever more energetic federal government to help resolve a 200-year-old land claim."

Bentley, who is also Ontario's attorney general, played down the possibility that he's considering handing over the former housing development, which is held in trust by the province but still occupied by Six Nations protesters.

But when asked twice outside the chamber if he would rule out a handover, he was tight-lipped.

His silence proves that a handover is still on the table, said Opposition Leader Tim Hudak.

"This is going to reward lawbreaking, it's going to reward an illegal occupation and it sends a complete wrong signal on how to deal with this situation," he said.

Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said she felt the government was leaning toward handing over the former Douglas Creek Estates to the Six Nations during a meeting with Bentley last Friday.

"That was my impression," she said. "That's how I took it."

During the meeting, Bentley "made it quite clear that if our communities are to move forward, we must learn to work together," she said.

"And he made that very, very clear."

The simmering four-year land dispute, which has erupted in violent clashes between protesters and local residents, has cost taxpayers $64.3 million so far.

That doesn't include about $16 million the province paid for the land, which was seized and occupied by protesters from the nearby Six Nations reserve on Feb. 28, 2006.

The government has said protesters can remain there while all sides negotiate a resolution to the land claim.

The total cost also excludes a recent out-of-court settlement between the Ontario government and a Caledonia couple, Dana Chatwell and Dave Brown.

Instead of punting the responsibility to Ottawa, Bentley should speed up the process of verifying land claims in Ontario, said NDP justice critic Peter Kormos.

"For the attorney general to whine about the federal government just boggles the mind," Kormos said.

"It's been provincial taxpayers' money that's been invested in this conflict, it's been provincial politicians who've purported to have been there addressing it, and it's the province that has the capacity to end this incredible standoff and restore some level of peace to Caledonia and the area around it."

The federal government kicked in $26.4 million to reimburse the province for the cost of purchasing the residential subdivision, which was then under construction. The money included $10.6 million to offset policing costs.

OPP charge officer

2010-02-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

ORILLIA, ON, Feb. 18 /CNW/ - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Professional Standards Bureau (PSB), has charged an OPP officer following an investigation into theft, fraud and breach of trust.

As a result of receiving information, the OPP Professional Standards Bureau launched a criminal investigation in 2008 into the actions of an OPP officer. The investigation found that between January 2002 and December 2004 the officer submitted claims to the OPP for expenses that he was not entitled to. The investigation also determined that the officer accepted or received money, a loan and the use of a personal watercraft.

At the time of the offences the officer was the Inspector, Manager of the First Nations Policing Section under the former First Nations and Contract Policing Bureau of the OPP.

Superintendent Glenn TRIVETT, age 46, a 24 year member of the OPP assigned to the Career Development Bureau has been charged with:

1) Theft Over $5,000, section 334;
2) Fraud Over $5,000, section 380(1);
3) Breach of Trust, section 122;
4) Secret Commissions, section 426(1) (a), all contrary to the Criminal
Code.

Superintendent TRIVETT has been suspended from duty and will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie on March 24, 2010.

Hamilton inspector charged with misconduct

2010-02-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

Charges include corruption, insubordination and sex on duty
Source:The Spec
February 18, 2010
Paul Morse
A Hamilton police inspector has been charged with numerous counts of misconduct under the Police Act, including having sex on duty.

Inspector David Doel faced the start of a police tribunal this morning.

The 27-year Hamilton police veteran is charged with 14 counts of misconduct including discredible conduct, corrupt practises, neglect of duty and insubordination.

Doel has been suspended with pay since Oct. 23 last year.

Daddy Dalton will prorogue

2010-02-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

Daddy Dalton announced today that he will prorogue the Ontario legislature briefly
No set date as to when it will start or when it will end.

The Dalton Gang strikes again!

Durham Regional Police officer charged with assaulting 2 teens

2010-02-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

source:Toronto Sun
A Durham Regional Police officer is accused of assaulting two teenaged boys while off duty on Super Bowl Sunday, police announced Wednesday.

The 41-year-old officer was outside the AMC complex on Consumers Dr. in Whitby when he got in an argument with two 16-year-old boys who were waiting for rides home after leaving a Super Bowl party at a nearby restaurant, a Durham Regional Police press release said.

"He (the officer) allegedly punched one 16-year-old male and grabbed another 16-year-old male during the incident," the press release said. "There were no serious injuries."

Basil Odei, a 15-year Durham Regional Police veteran, was arrested Tuesday night by officers from the Professional Standards Unit. He was charged with two counts of assault and released from custody on a promise to appear in court, police said.

Odei, who was working out of the Centralized Alternative Response Unit in Whitby, was suspended from his duties pending the outcome of his court case, police said.

Were you outside the AMC on Sunday? Did you witness the confrontation or know the teens? Contact us at 416-947-2211 or by e-mail at torsun.citydesk@sunmedia.ca

A worthy mention from Florida

2010-02-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Florida police officer Paul C. Lawrence, 38, allegedly was so good in combating traffic violations that he did not wait for them to occur before ticketing citizens. Lawrence has been charged with giving tickets to people who were not even in the state, let alone on the highway.

Prosecutors believe that Lawrence was trying to fulfill his quota of tickets — a ridiculous practice among police departments that forces officers to write tickets to bring in revenue.

Authorities believe that Lawrence used information from prior traffic stops to write the tickets.

In November alone, Lawrence wrote 397 tickets with 82 missing a signature and 203 of them were later dismissed. One man was in Peru at the time that Lawrence said he was speeding down a Florida highway.

He is facing 22 counts of official misconduct, a third-degree felony

Cornwall police officer charged with impaired driving

2010-02-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

Source:Standard Freeholder
Posted By Michael Peeling
Updated 21 hours ago

mpeeling@standard-freeholder.com

CORNWALL - The OPP have charged a city police detective with impaired driving.

Provincial officers were responding to a call on Feb. 1 around 6 p.m. in South Stormont when a man got out of a car on the side of County Road 15.

He flagged down the officers.

The officers pulled over to investigate and found the woman driving was operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

OPP Const. Pete Robertson said the officers had been dispatched to deal with a call involving the vehicle the woman was driving, but he couldn't elaborate on the nature of the call because of the ongoing investigation.

Emma Wilson-King, 45, of South Stormont was charged with impaired driving and exceeding 80 milligrams blood alcohol content per 100 millilitres.

Wilson-King is a detective constable with the Cornwall Community Police Service.

According to Staff Sgt. Garry Derochie of the police service's professional standards bureau, Wilson-King is currently "on personal leave."

Until the charges against the detective are dealt with in the courts, Wilson-King will be assigned to a desk job to perform administrative duties when she returns to work.

In the meantime, Derochie said Chief of Police Dan Parkinson will file an automatic "chief's complaint" under the Police Services Act against Wilson-King.
If convicted of impaired driving, the officer could be subject to a Police Services Act hearing for serious misconduct.

Wilson-King is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Article ID# 2440248

Judge approves Caledonia class-action suit

2010-02-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

Businesses, residents suing the OPP over occupation
February 08, 2010
Paul Morse
Source: The Spec
A Superior Court judge has approved a class-action lawsuit against the OPP over the 2006 native occupation of the former Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia.

The lawsuit, involving four businesses and 14 Caledonia residents, names former OPP commissioner Gwen Boniface, the former Haldimand OPP detachment commander and the Ontario government.

In a decision released Monday, Judge David Crane agreed the lawsuit reasonably met the requirements of identifiable classes with common claims

Read the decision

The class-action lawsuit focuses on the closure of Argyle Street, closure of Highway 6 and the OPP’s alleged failure to enforce court injunctions.

The suit alleges the OPP and province broke laws allowing these things to happen. The allegations have yet to be proven in court.

OPP officer charged after collision damages cruiser

2010-02-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Source:CP24
The Canadian Press

ESSEX, Ont. — A provincial police officer has been charged after a collision in Essex County.

Police say 29-year-old Constable Tammi Comartin, a member of the Essex County OPP, has been charged with failing to yield contrary to the Highway Traffic Act after a minor collision on Thursday morning.

Police say an unmarked cruiser entered an intersection and struck the rear bumper of a northbound vehicle.

The cruiser sustained minor damage while the other vehicle was not damaged.

Police say neither driver was injured.

Comartin, a one-year member with the provincial police force, was issued a provincial offences notice for the Highway Traffic Act Infraction.

Ottawa cop charged

2010-02-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Source: The Spec

THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — Ottawa police have charged one of their own with criminal harassment in connection with a series of incidents that happened over a four month period.

Police say the 43-year-old officer has been charged with three counts of criminal harassment for events that occurred between Nov. 1, 2009 and Feb. 5, 2010.

The name of the officer will not be released in order to protect the victim’s privacy.

According to Supt. Mike Flanagan, there was a personal relationship between the officer and the victim.

Police are still investigating to see whether charges will also be laid under the Police Services Act.

The officer has been suspended with strict conditions, and he will appear in court on Sunday.