OPP officer cleared of stunt-driving charge

OPP officer cleared of stunt-driving charge
Racism behind allegation, constable says
Posted By GALEN EAGLE, EXAMINER COURT WRITER
Posted 2 days ago
Peterborough County OPP Const. Lloyd Tapp was found not guilty yesterday on charges of stunt driving and careless driving.
The 43-year-old officer had strong words for the fellow officer who made the allegations against him and those that investigated the case.
"Like I have been saying all along, the whole charge was a crock of lies," Tapp said. "The evidence you have heard today in court is a clear indication of the shoddy investigations of the Ontario Provincial Police."
Questioning why charges were laid against him, Tapp said he is a visible minority who has made four claims to the Ontario Human Rights Commission against the OPP since 2005.
"One might ask then, why were charges laid when such a strong prima facie case existed with a lack of evidence to even substantiate a charge?" he said. "What the public has heard today in court, the public should take heed to the type of so-called professional investigations and integrity of investigations by OPP."
Tapp was charged April 8 with driving at least 50 km/h over the speed limit and careless driving on Highway 115 in Cavan Monaghan Township on March 25.
Tapp was one of several Peterborough County OPP officers who agreed to provide security detail at Queen's Park during the release of the provincial budget March 25, court heard.
OPP Const. Brenda Donnelly travelled with Tapp to Toronto in a marked cruiser, she testified. The two left the Peterborough detachment at about 3:37 a. m. and arrived in Toronto for briefing at about 4:45 a. m., she said.
En route to Toronto, Donnelly said Tapp was driving 180 km/h along Highway 115, between 140 to 160 km/h on the 401 and was obeying the speed limit on the Don Valley Parkway.
"We started going fast, excessive speeds," she told court. "The speedometer was pointing in my direction ... it was at the 180 km/h mark. We travelled that speed for quite a ways, most of the 115."
Donnelly said she didn't say anything to Tapp because she had to work with him for the rest of the day. She made a formal police statement six days later, court heard.
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Defence lawyer William MacKenzie questioned why Donnelly didn't stop Tapp if he was driving at such speeds.
"On your evidence, you sat there quietly while a member of the police service broke the law. You failed to uphold your duties as a sworn officer, correct," MacKenzie asked.
"Yes, yes I did," Donnelly replied.
Tapp testified he wasn't paying attention to the speedometer but was going with the flow of traffic. He said he would never drive at such "ridiculous" speeds.
"Personally, it's against my code of ethics to travel at that speed," Tapp testified.
MacKenzie argued Donnelly was a poor witness who didn't take any notes of the incident. Her testimony also diverged from her police statement, court heard. She told police Tapp travelled 180 km/h the entire way to Toronto, MacKenzie noted.
Given the 134 kilometres between the detachment and Queen's Park and the timeline Donnelly provided, MacKenzie said Tapp couldn't have driven more than 50 km/h over the speed limit.
"The mathematics don't lie here," MacKenzie said.
Justice of the peace Douglas Clark ruled the Crown did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Article ID# 1290712

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1290712

Ontario judge won't budge from OPP discipline case

An Ontario judge has accused Julian Fantino's legal team of political interference and intimidation, and refused to step down from a police disciplinary case, in a surprising development that will likely delay the OPP commissioner's testimony for months.
As the police disciplinary hearing for two officers resumed Monday in Orillia, provincial Judge Leonard Montgomery responded to accusations of bias brought against him by the OPP commissioner's legal counsel last week.
Supt. Ken MacDonald and Insp. Allison Jevons are accused of neglect of duty and deceit in a case that has pitted Fantino against the the two former officers assigned to internal OPP investigations.
Montgomery told the hearing he has no intention of stepping aside in the disciplinary case, despite OPP lawyer Brian Gover's allegation he is prejudging Fantino's credibility as a witness.
The judge also accused Gover of political interference for suggesting Ontario's Attorney General's Office was ready to step in and appeal for Montgomery's removal from the case.
"It all adds up to an attempt to interfere and undermine," ruled Montgomery, who threw out Gover's motion to have him removed, and ordered Fantino's testimony to continue.
Fantino's lawyer vowed to appeal the ruling in efforts to remove Montgomery from the case, a strategy that will delay the commissioner's testimony for several months.
While working for the force's internal investigations unit, MacDonald and Jevons were ordered to look into why OPP supervisors in Eastern Ontario overlooked a case involving a local officer who allegedly attacked his wife's car with a baseball bat.
MacDonald and Jevons concluded there was misconduct in the case, prompting the police union to file a complaint alleging major problems with the investigation.
Fantino ordered a review of the investigation's findings, eventually agreed with the union, and charged both officers with neglecting their duties, and being deceitful in how they handled the investigation.
MacDonald and Jevons claim they're victims of a witch hunt inside the OPP, orchestrated by Fantino and the head of OPP's union, and claim the commissioner bowed to union pressure.
Fantino has testified allegations brought against him by the officers are "hysterical nonsense" and denied bending to the union's will.
He also insists he has no personal vendetta against the two officers

Another joke from the Liberals

http://www.petitiononline.com/Cruise08/petition.html



It was announced Monday, November 3, that Bill 117 (Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Child Passengers on Motorcycles), 2008) passed first reading. It would ban all kids under 14 from being passengers on motorcycles. As a father, and as a very proud parent, who loves cruising on my motorcycle, it saddens me, that I may now have to tell my 5 year old son, that he will no longer be allowed to join Daddy for any more rides until he's 14 years of age. For a year now, my son, has had the privilege of little jaunts on Daddy's ride around the neighbourhood, FULLY AND PROPERLY CLOTHED, WITH A DOT APPROVED PROPERLY FITTED HELMET, so that he could become accustomed to the proper riding and safety techniques of riding a motorcycle on the road. This is a privilege that I have allowed him, and even at 5, he has shown the maturity and respect that it takes to be a passenger on a motorcycle. This is now no longer going to be available to him!...or to anyone else out there with children, and the love to ride. I'm not stupid either, as I write this petition. I know that I am possibly considered negligent towards my son, but I know where and when I can take him. But...if I am negligent than so is our school bus systems and our city transit commissions. Should we stop putting our children on buses too?! Should we stop them from climbing the jungle gyms at our local parks?! What's next??!! If this is the case we should take them off their pedal bikes too!! I never ever wish any harm on my son, or any other child out there, but seriously, what IS next. The Ontario government persistently continues to work against the motorcyclist and motorcycling community. They continue to stereotype us as criminal outlaws and deem us irresponsible and negligent. This has to stop! The politicians who produce these laws, by simple statistics, which are just that...statistics, should further their research and not jump so hastily into law making rubbish!!

NDP alleges Liberal government interfering in OPP disciplinary hearing

Ontario's New Democrats are accusing the Liberal government of interfering in an OPP disciplinary hearing to protect commissioner Julian Fantino.Fantino's lawyer at the Police Services Act hearing for two senior OPP officers wants the adjudicator to recuse himself from the case.NDP Leader Howard Hampton told the legislature that Fantino's lawyer even boasted that he had support from senior counsel in the Ministry of the Attorney General.On Wednesday, the lawyer told the hearing that the ministry would support an appeal if the adjudicator decided against stepping down.Hampton told the legislature that sounds like the attorney general's ministry is interfering in the OPP hearing, and questioned how there could be a fair hearing.Attorney General Chris Bentley told Hampton he was wrong, and chastised the NDP leader — a former attorney general — for making comments about an ongoing hearing.On Wednesday, a ministry spokesman denied that any decision had been made to support an appeal, and a spokesman for Bentley said the minister had no part in any of the proceedings.