Pubdate: Tue, 29 May 2012
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Megan O'Toole
Page: A11

CONSPIRACY CASE AGAINST EX-OFFICERS OF DRUG SQUAD 'TAINTED,' COURT TOLD

Five former Toronto Police drug squad officers accused of conspiring
to shield their misconduct from public view "may not have been
perfect," but they committed no crime, a Superior Court jury heard
Monday.

In final arguments, defence lawyer John Rosen said he was concerned
the trial had devolved into an assessment of whether the officers had
"dotted their i's and crossed their t's" in a handful of cases dating
back to the late 1990s.

"[This case] is about criminality, not police standards," Mr. Rosen
thundered in his day-long address to the jury, suggesting the Crown's
case was founded on incomplete evidence and the word of "tainted" witnesses.

The five former members of Team Three of the central field command
drug squad - John Schertzer, Steven Correia, Nebojsa Maodus, Joseph
Miched and Raymond Pollard - stand accused of conspiring to attempt to
obstruct justice by falsifying police records or giving false
testimony. The Crown alleges this was part of a scheme to conceal the
drug squad's misdeeds, including beating and robbing drug dealers.

Amid problems with the Crown's case, Justice Gladys Pardu has already
instructed the jury to acquit the officers on five of the 14 counts
listed in the indictment.

Mr. Rosen, the first of five defence lawyers to deliver closing
arguments in the four-month trial, said the Crown - "in its zeal to
obtain a conviction, perhaps at any cost" - failed to introduce
potentially contradictory evidence, leaving huge holes in the case.

"There's no conspiracy because there's nothing to cover up," asserted
Mr. Rosen, who represents Mr. Schertzer, the former leader of Team
Three. The only overarching agreement between the five officers was to
"do their duty and uphold the law," Mr. Rosen noted.

"They didn't lie and cheat and steal and beat people and rob them," he
said. "That's not what happened here... They may not have been perfect
in doing [their duty], but they didn't go out and commit offences."

Mr. Rosen repeatedly criticized the amount of evidence the Crown
brought to bear in the case, citing a substantial number of missing
records, including the officers' own field notes. The jury has been
asked to examine the case "with one eye only," he charged, suggesting
the Crown made no effort to call witnesses who could explain these
gaps - nor did it call a number of officers who worked with the
accused on the drug squad and could have provided some insight into
their conduct.

"Deafening silence from this table," Mr. Rosen said, gesturing toward
Crown counsel. "[It's a prism] focused on what the Crown wants you to
see and nothing else... A reasonable doubt is based on the evidence,
and on the lack of evidence."

Mr. Rosen also cautioned the jury against accepting evidence from
witnesses such as marijuana dealer Christopher Quigley, who said the
drug squad subjected him to a "violent shakedown," and cocaine dealer
Aida Fagundo, who said police assaulted her and stole $10,000 in cash
and a $20,000 pair of diamond earrings.

"These witnesses are so tainted by who they are and how they've lived
their lives ... Would you make the most important decision in your
life based on their word?" Mr. Rosen asked the jury.

Closing arguments by the defence and Crown are expected to continue
into next week.
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