Man charged `because of his race,' judge finds

They lied in court, is this not perjury?
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Published On Thu Nov 26 2009

Drug charges against a Toronto man have been thrown out after a Superior Court justice found police engaged in racial profiling when they pulled his vehicle over and then lied about it in court.

Justice Frances Kiteley found police "had no lawful basis to pull Mr. (Irshad) Ahmed over" on Nov. 25, 2008, while he was driving in Toronto's west end.

Constables Justyn Humeniuk and Ryan Willmer of 23 Division said they pulled 26-year-old Ahmed over because he ran a red light. Kiteley rejected that explanation, saying the officers had "lied." "He did nothing to cause the police officers to pay attention to him," she wrote in an 11-page ruling released Wednesday.

"I am compelled to draw the inference that Mr. Ahmed was investigated and arbitrarily detained because of his race," the judge wrote.

"I'm happy for Mr. Ahmed," his lawyer, Gary Grill, said Wednesday. "But he's been in jail for a year because of the colour of his skin."

This is the second time a judge has concluded officers lied in court about their dealings with Ahmed. Last year, a judge found officers used excessive force when Tasering Ahmed; Ahmed was sent to jail for 75 days for obstructing police.

The court heard a tape of the incident in which an officer is heard taunting Ahmed, who was lying face down in broken glass.

Toronto Star