Pubdate: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.fyitoronto.com/torsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457 Author: Jonathan Jenkins DURHAM'S DRUG COPS PROBED Opp Looking into Complaint The hunters are now the hunted. Durham drug cops have the dubious distinction, along with their counterparts in Toronto, of being the focus of a criminal investigation by another police service. "We've received a recent allegation of misconduct on the part of a small number of members of our Durham unit," Chief Kevin McAlpine said. "We've asked the OPP to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of that." McAlpine refused to detail the allegations or how many officers the complaint covers, except to say it was a series of charges made by one complainant in mid-January. "All of that stuff is what the OPP will explore in detail with the complainant," McAlpine said. "Until they have a chance to do that we just don't want to prejudice the investigation." All of the officers involved are still on the job, although some of them are no longer with the drug squad due to scheduled staff changes, he said. "It's the beginning of the year so some people have gone on to other jobs," he said. "To attribute any of that directly to this would just be inappropriate." Doug Cavanaugh, president of the Durham Regional Police Association, met with the chief yesterday and asked the case be looked at thoroughly but quickly. "Sometimes these things hang around for great lengths of time and probably cause more damage than the allegations themselves," he said. Toronto's now-dissolved central field command drug squad has been the focus of lawsuits and investigations dating back to 1999. RCMP Supt. John Neily has been conducting his own probe since 2001. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex