Pubdate: Wed, 06 Jun 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

OFFICERS 'COVERED THEIR TRACKS,' CROWN SAYS

Five former Toronto police drug squad officers on trial for corruption
"covered their tracks" by falsifying notes or lying under oath to
shield a pattern of misconduct, which included beating and robbing
drug dealers, a Superior Court jury heard Tuesday.

"The defendants acted dishonestly in their role as police officers,"
Crown attorney Milan Rupic told the jury, as the Crown began closing
arguments in Ontario Superior Court.

"This case is about officers who thought they stood above the law, who
thwarted the law, who subverted the law, and who, on occasion, used
their position to enrich themselves when they had the opportunity....
This case is not about sloppy notes or flawed paperwork," he said.

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 the officers conspired to conceal their misdeeds in
a handful of cases dating back to the late 1990s, when a number of
witnesses say the officers assaulted them or stole drugs and money.

In closing arguments last week, the defence argued while the officers
"may not have been perfect" in following internal police procedures,
they committed no crime. Defence lawyer John Rosen cautioned jurors
against accepting the word of the Crown's "unsavoury" witnesses from
Toronto's drug underworld.

But Mr. Rupic argued the Crown has introduced plenty of other
evidence. He cited the example of marijuana dealer Christopher
Quigley, who alleged the drug squad brutally beat him while demanding
information on his drug stash. The defence contended Mr. Quigley
snapped and police had to struggle to subdue him, but Mr. Rupic
pointed to photos taken soon after the encounter, which show no
bruises on Mr. Quigley's hands.

"His hands and knuckles remained pristine, [with] not a scratch or a
scrape on them," Mr. Rupic said.

In another case, the drug squad was accused of illegally searching an
alleged dealer's house and, upon finding a quantity of heroin,
orchestrating an elaborate "cover-up" to get a warrant after the fact
and salvage their case.

"The integrity and fairness of that prosecution was undermined," Mr.
Rupic said.

The Crown is slated to continue final arguments over a period of three
days. The judge will likely sequester the jury - which has been
listening to evidence since January - later this month to decide the
officers' fate.
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MAP posted-by: Matt