Toronto Police Officers Charged with Obstructing Justice, Perjury

[GameBoy27]

Not surprised in the slightest. Cops lie all the time on the stand but rarely get caught. Nice to see some charges being laid.

By: Jillian Kestler-D’Amours Staff Reporter, Peter Edwards Star Reporter, Published on Thu Jan 28 2016

Four Toronto police officers have been arrested on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury, Chief Mark Saunders told a news conference this morning.

The officers face a total of 17 charges in relation to a 2014 drug bust, Saunders said.

Const. Jeffrey Tout, Det.-Const. Fraser Douglas, Det.-Const. Benjamin Elliott and Sgt. Michael Taylor are scheduled to appear in court on March 11.

Saunders said a team including members of the force’s professional standards unit and the Crown Attorney’s office has been formed to scrutinize other cases involving the officers “to see if there is any other cause of concern.”

“We will get through this and we will do our best to get the public trust back,” he said.

All four officers have been suspended with pay, Saunders said.

“I don’t have an option. Under the Police Services Act, it has to be that way,” he said.

The charges follow a Superior Court judge’s ruling last September that the officers planted heroin in a man’s car and then “obviously colluded” in their testimony in court.

Tout, Douglas, Elliott and Taylor all presented differing versions of what happened during a traffic stop in January 2014 when Nguyen Son Tran was pulled over for allegedly running a red light near Gerrard St. and Broadview Ave.

The officers said Tran had a pile of loose heroin powder on his dashboard, which led to a search of the car and the discovery of 11 more grams of heroin.

But police could not explain why Tran had loose heroin in the car, or why he didn’t wipe it away when he was pulled over, Justice Edward Morgan wrote in a ruling that threw out the drugs as evidence and stayed the drug charges against Tran.

“There is too much falsehood, and too many unexplained and otherwise unexplainable elements in the police testimony,” Morgan wrote. “I conclude from all this that the loose heroin was placed on the console of the Toyota by the police after their search, and was not left there by the defendant prior to the search.”

Morgan noted “this is obvious collusion and its denial is disturbing.”

Tout, 41, a 17-year veteran of the force, is charged with two counts of obstructing justice and two counts of perjury.

Elliott, 32, has nine years’ service with the force. He is charged with three counts of obstructing justice and three counts of perjury.

Taylor, 34, an 11-year veteran, is charged with two counts of obstructing justice and one count of perjury.

Douglas, 37, has been with the force for 14 years. He is charged with two counts of obstructing justice and two counts of perjury.

Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack said he was “very troubled and very concerned” by the allegations.

McCormack noted that the allegations are still unproven and the officers are entitled to the presumption of innocence.

“All of our officers take their jobs very seriously. They’re very professional. It does have an impact on the morale and our officers,” McCormack said.

“This has been a very bad week for the members of the Toronto police service,” he added.

Mayor John Tory said he had confidence in Saunders to handle the matter.

“The real measure is how you handle these (issues) and how you deal with these,” Tory told reporters shortly after Saunders’s news conference.

“I have confidence that the men and women still do a great job for us and that he (Saunders) is effectively leading us through these incidents that are difficult.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2016/01/28/toronto-police-officers-charged-with-obstruction-of-justice-perjury.html

 

[uklatecomer]

I wonder if those who gave false or misleading testimony at the Forcillo trial will also be charged.

 

[lucky_blue]

This is a very good sign - we can't allow the police to keep thinking they are above the law.

Sadly drug prohibition will always lead to corruption like this.

I would not be surprised in the least if some of his inventory was taken for personal consumption or resale. I wonder how much of his cash was seized?

 

[dirkd101]

It the second time for the one cop, with the same guy. He arrested him before on drug charges and the judge said there was inconsistencies in his testimony and tossed it out. I'm thinking he's not going to get a third try this time, regardless if the guy is a scumbag or not, they have to follow the law.

 

[GameBoy27]

My take is that with 5000 officers in Toronto, this kind of stuff has been going on for years. Not just this particular case but others like G20, Sammi Yatim and the cop who put 15 rounds into the hood of the car. The difference is, almost everyone now has a cell phone camera with the ability to take video and it's being used as evidence to paint a not so rosy picture of the cops.

I think people have always known there's some bad apples on the force. Now the general public has a tool they can use to keep them in line and even be used to lay charges for misconduct. This is a good thing.

 

[frankcastle]

These guys are all high up in experience. This is not their first time doing this. I doubt this had anything to do with getting scumbags off the street because is your career worth the risk of busting some guy with a small amount of drugs? Not that breaking the law for better reasons makes it any less severe.

 

[SkyRider]

I can only speak from personal experience. None of this shit ever happens to me. I must be leading a dull, boring, law abiding life. However, when I am going the wrong way on a one way street on my bike I do avoid eye contact if I see police in a car or a bike.

 

[GPIDEAL]

My take is that with 5000 officers in Toronto, this kind of stuff has been going on for years. Not just this particular case but others like G20, Sammi Yatim and the cop who put 15 rounds into the hood of the car. The difference is, almost everyone now has a cell phone camera with the ability to take video and it's being used as evidence to paint a not so rosy picture of the cops.

I think people have always known there's some bad apples on the force. Now the general public has a tool they can use to keep them in line and even be used to lay charges for misconduct. This is a good thing.

In the 90s if not early millennium (I can't recall exactly when), in my former abode, I saw two cops kick either a homeless or drunk guy outside (I woke up to the commotion during a summer night). I didn't have a camera phone then or video recorder. The guy might have been causing a public disturbance, but I bet if I had recorded that scene, it would've made headlines. The cops are lucky.

P.S. There was a post that showed fellow officers purposely blocking a guy recording an arrest with his camera phone using their bodies as shields and pretending to be friendly. Wonder how ethical that was?

 

[GPIDEAL]

These guys are all high up in experience. This is not their first time doing this. I doubt this had anything to do with getting scumbags off the street because is your career worth the risk of busting some guy with a small amount of drugs? Not that breaking the law for better reasons makes it any less severe.

Hmmm. Makes you wonder if they were trying to get a 'bad guy'? However, the law is the law. No vigilantism allowed.

 

[IM469]

Hmmm. Makes you wonder if they were trying to get a 'bad guy'? However, the law is the law. No vigilantism allowed.

I'm sure they thought they were sure that they we simply getting a bad guy where he belongs. It's not like they were dirty cops blackmailing hookers, stealing drug money, pay offs, etc. The harsh reality that seems hard for some cops to accept is the the rules of justice aren't there to protect the guilty - they are there to protect the innocent.

There have been numerous cases where cops are sure they got the guy and either ignore evidence proving innocence or manufacture evidence to stop the creep from walking. Years later, the guys life is in ruins and he is proven innocent.

 

[nottyboi]

Not surprise that we don't see more of them getting caught.
Check this out as well http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...onth-drug-trafficking-investigation-1.3318927

haha suspended with pay. So now the OPP actually has cocaine traffickers on its payroll! LMAO

 

[GameBoy27]

I'm sure they thought they were sure that they we simply getting a bad guy where he belongs. It's not like they were dirty cops blackmailing hookers, stealing drug money, pay offs, etc. The harsh reality that seems hard for some cops to accept is the the rules of justice aren't there to protect the guilty - they are there to protect the innocent.

There have been numerous cases where cops are sure they got the guy and either ignore evidence proving innocence or manufacture evidence to stop the creep from walking. Years later, the guys life is in ruins and he is proven innocent.

He comes to mind. Cops basically framed him and ruined his life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Paul_Morin