Toronto cops acquitted of sex assault charges won't face appeal
But that doesn't mean trio's police behaviour should be excused
By Michele Mandel, Toronto Sun
First posted: Thursday, September 14, 2017 08:04 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 14, 2017 08:10 PM EDT
The three Toronto Police officers acquitted on charges of sexual assault last month will not face the possibility of a new trial, the Sun has learned.
Following the 30-day review period, the ministry of the attorney general has confirmed the Crown has chosen not to file an appeal of the judgment by Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy. As far as the criminal justice system is concerned, Constables Leslie Nyznik, Joshua Cabero and Sameer Kara are in the clear.
But that doesn’t mean they should be back patrolling our streets any time soon.
A review by Professional Standards is still underway and no charges have been laid under the Police Act. All three remain suspended with pay as they’ve been since their arrest in February 2015.
“No final decision has been made,” said police spokesman Meaghan Gray.
It doesn’t seem all that difficult.
After all we heard during the sensational trial, charges of discreditable conduct seem obvious. It’s right there in the Police Act under regulation 2a(XI), any police officer commits misconduct if he “acts in a disorderly manner or in a manner prejudicial to discipline or likely to bring discredit upon the reputation of the police force of which the officer is a member.”
Few would argue that their behaviour that night brought discredit to Toronto Police.
Shall we recap?
On a rookie buy night, arranged by Nyznik, Kara got so drunk that he was vomiting all over the lobby of the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and in full public view, had to be held up so he didn’t collapse on the floor. Charming.
At the Pravda nightclub, Nyznik recounted how they availed themselves of free vodka and food. At the Brass Rail strip club, the first round of drinks were also on the house. Nyznik can be seen on the video pawing at a stripper and appears to be such a regular customer that all the girls stand fawningly around him.
By his own account, he lied and told one of the strippers they were a porn movie crew from Miami and they’d love to get her back to their hotel for a “private audition.”
And of course, their admitted plans to hire a hooker for the night. Last time we checked, wasn’t that against the law?
Even Molloy seemed unimpressed by their disgusting behavior. But “the question is not whether they behaved admirably, or even ethically,” she said. Instead, the question was whether the woman’s evidence was credible and reliable and the judge wasn’t convinced of either.
But acquittal doesn’t excuse police behaviour, wrote lawyer Clayton Ruby and Annamaria Enenajor, calling their actions that night “utterly unethical,” “utterly disgusting” and “utterly inappropriate” in an article for the Lawyer’s Daily,
“Yes, these officers were acquitted, but it should not be that any conduct by a police officer short of sexual assault should be tolerated by society,” they wrote.
“These officers should not be on the police force and if Chief (Mark) Saunders had any sensitivity to his obligations to this community he would move to have them discharged.”
Saunders has taken one step - he’s banned the rookie buy nights, instructing officers that the initiation booze fest is no longer in keeping with police culture.
“Even when off duty, our members must be accountable for their adherence, or lack thereof, to the Core Values of the Toronto Police Service,” says the internal memo. “Disorderly behaviours, including excessive alcohol consumption and the unfair expectation of junior members to pay for others, are to end immediately.”
That’s a beginning. The next step is to ensure these officers are brought up on disciplinary charges. And if found guilty, ensure they never wear a police uniform again.
Read Mandel Wednesday through Saturday.
Toronto cops acquitted of sex assault charges won't face appeal | MANDEL | Toron
Hamilton special constable charged in alleged courthouse assault
The Canadian Press
First posted: Thursday, September 14, 2017 05:09 PM EDT
Hamilton police say a special constable with the force is charged following an alleged assault at a courthouse.
They say the incident occurred at the John Sopinka Courthouse in Hamilton.
Police did not provide details of the alleged assault.
Investigators say the 38-year-old, part-time special constable was arrested Thursday and charged with assault.
The accused has been suspended from duty and is to appear in court on Oct. 17.
Hamilton special constable charged in alleged courthouse assault | Home | Toront
RCMP illegally snooped mobile phones with Stingray device: Watchdog
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Thursday, September 14, 2017 12:19 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 14, 2017 12:35 PM EDT
OTTAWA — The RCMP illegally scooped up mobile phone data half a dozen times using controversial Stingray devices, the federal privacy watchdog says.
An investigation by the privacy commissioner’s office found that the Mounties now require a judicial warrant for use of the technology, except in emergencies.
The probe also concluded the RCMP was properly hiving off, securing and ultimately destroying the personal information of innocent people collected by the devices.
But the watchdog chastised the national police force for initially refusing to even confirm publicly that it was using the technology, fuelling fears about unnecessary snooping.
The commissioner looked into the RCMP’s use of Stingrays in response to a complaint from public-interest group OpenMedia, which had concerns the Mounties were using the devices to monitor large groups of people and the content of their communications.
The watchdog found the RCMP’s devices were not capable of intercepting voice communications, or email or text messages.
A Stingray device, sometimes called an IMSI catcher, mimics a cellular tower, making all nearby mobile phones connect to it. Identifiers linked to individual phones can then be used to determine their location or owner.
As a result, collection of such data through a Stingray amounts to search and seizure, creating a need for a court-ordered warrant to ensure compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the privacy commissioner found.
http://openmedia.org
http://t.co/SgfcdE8nzY
RCMP illegally snooped mobile phones with Stingray device: Watchdog | Canada | N
Police allege state trooper beat, strangled woman at his home
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Thursday, September 14, 2017 12:54 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 14, 2017 01:02 PM EDT
BRADENVILLE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania state trooper who police say assaulted a woman has been suspended without pay.
The Tribune-Review reports 37-year-old Trooper Chad Corbett has been charged with aggravated indecent assault, strangulation, simple assault and reckless endangerment.
Police say Corbett hit, kicked, strangled and sexually abused a 36-year-old woman at his Derry Township home earlier this month. Corbett was arrested Sep. 4.
Corbett had been assigned to Troop A’s Kiski Valley Station before his suspension.
An attorney is not listed for Corbett. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2.
State trooper suspended, charged with strangling, assaulting woman at Derry home | TribLIVE
Police allege state trooper beat, strangled woman at his home | World | News | T
Report: Cop 'lost control' before violently arresting nurse
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Thursday, September 14, 2017 05:11 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, September 14, 2017 05:21 PM EDT
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah police chief will decide any possible punishment for an officer caught on video dragging a nurse from a hospital and handcuffing her after a review board found he lost control and got aggressive.
It appears Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne became upset during a long wait to draw blood from a patient and his frustration spilled over after nurse Alex Wubbels refused under hospital policy, the report from the independent Police Civilian Review board report said.
“His verbal actions were loud, aggressive, and overly mission driven,” the report released Wednesday states, adding that Payne “very clearly lost control of his emotions.”
That report and another from the Salt Lake City Police Department’s internal affairs investigators will be considered by police chief Mike Brown as he weighs possible punishment that could include firing.
Payne’s lawyer, Greg Skordas, said Thursday those conclusions were speculation.
“When I look at a police report, I think just the facts. You don’t need that kind of stuff,” he said. Payne will go before the chief on Sept. 25 to give his side of the story.
Payne’s only previous black mark in his 27-year tenure with Salt Lake City police was a written reprimand from 2013, Skordas said.
The report also faults supervisor Lt. James Tracy, who told Payne to arrest the nurse if she didn’t allow the blood draw, for not seeking legal advice on drawing blood from the car-crash victim without a warrant or formal consent. Police have since said Wubbels was right, and changed their policy.
Tracy’s attorney Ed Brass didn’t have immediate comment, saying he hadn’t been provided a copy of the report.
Salt Lake police opened an internal investigation a day after the July 26 arrest. Payne and Tracy were put on paid administrative leave after widespread attention followed the release of the body-camera video by Wubbels and her lawyer on Aug. 31.
The civilian review board report said that a third unnamed officer missed a chance to step in and calm things down despite a 2016 advisement for officers to intervene when their colleagues become frustrated with the words “code 909.”
Salt Lake Police spokeswoman Christina Judd said that’s been part of the department’s training on how to de-escalate situations rather than using force. It’s envisioned as a more subtle way for officers to help a situation that could be veering out of control, she said, though she didn’t know exactly how often it’s used.
Report: Cop 'lost control' before violently arresting nurse | World | News | Tor