Gun charges fell apart last month when a judge found Toronto police officers used excessive force during a raid, questioned a man “in a vulnerable position” and were “misleading” to try to cover it up.

As a result, the judge ruled evidence of illegal firearms and ammunition couldn’t be used in court, and 27-year-old Toronto rapper Omary Bent was acquitted of the charges.

But it’s unclear what the punishment will be, if any, for the five officers involved. For now, they’re still doing their jobs — jobs that, for some, involve teaching other officers how to do theirs.

And as CBC Toronto has learned, some of these officers have been accused of lying in court before.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Gun charges fell apart last month when a judge found Toronto police officers used excessive force during a raid, questioned a man “in a vulnerable position” and were “misleading” to try to cover it up.

    As a result, the judge ruled evidence of illegal firearms and ammunition couldn’t be used in court, and 27-year-old Toronto rapper Omary Bent was acquitted of the charges.

    “This apparent willingness to advance a narrative that suits a specific purpose at a particular time … lead[s] to the inescapable conclusion that he tailored his testimony to justify his use of force,” Nishikawa said in her ruling.

    In 2011, Xiouris was involved in a drug and gun case where a judge found police were reluctant to disclose meeting before writing their notes, which are supposed to be based on officers’ individual memories at the time.

    In an email, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said there are internal processes to identify cases with “negative judicial findings” and its professional standards branch investigates misconduct allegations.

    Witnesses, including officers, don’t get the right to present evidence or stay for the whole trial, among other things, said Jon Reid, president of the Toronto Police Association, in an email.

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