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.
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