Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2005, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/home.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457 Author: Jonathan Jenkins, Toronto Sun Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) COCAINE CONVICTION THROWN OUT A MAN'S cocaine trafficking conviction was thrown out by the Ontario Court of Appeal yesterday, even though the justices did not accept his argument that his arrest was based on racial profiling. Instead, the appeal panel ruled Christopher Byfield was illegally searched by two Toronto cops who stopped him on Kingston Rd. in May 2001. "While the officers had reasonable grounds to detain the appellant, they did not have reasonable grounds to arrest or search ... and the search was not justified for the purpose of officer safety," Justice Marc Rosenberg wrote. Byfield had argued the officers pulled him over because he was black. Byfield was stopped after officers watched what looked to be a drug sale between him and a street prostitute. Where police overstepped their bounds was by frisking his groin area after noticing a bulge -- before he was placed under arrest, Rosenberg said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl