Appeals by ex-drug squad officers dismissed
Critics worry court’s decision might send mixed messages to police about perjury
ACourt of Appeal decision released Monday dismissed appeals from five former members of the Toronto Police Service’s drug squad convicted nearly three years ago of attempting to obstruct justice, but did not apply harsher sentences requested by the Crown.
The strongly worded decision sends mixed messages to police officers about the seriousness of perjury, critics say.
John Schertzer, Steven Correia, Ned Maodus, Joseph Miched and Raymond Pollard were convicted of attempting to obstruct justice in June 2012, 14 years after prosecutors say they searched an apartment for drugs before the arrival of a search warrant and then falsified their notes and/or testified falsely in order to conceal it.
Pollard, Maodus and Correia were also charged with perjury for giving false evidence at the preliminary inquiry for the 1998 case.
The five officers received 45-day conditional sentences, meaning they were placed on house arrest with exceptions for jobs, health-related appointments, consultation with lawyers and four hours free each Saturday to attend to personal needs.
Peter Brauti and Michael Lacy, lawyers for Miched and Pollard respectively, both told the Star in separate statements that they are “disappointed” with Monday’s decision and are considering their options going forward.
Lawyers for Schertzer, Correia and Maodus did not return the Star’s request for comment.
All five have maintained their innocence since the incident.
“The courts and the Crown and the public rely upon the police to tell the truth in their notes and tell the truth when they go to courts.” IAN SCOTT LAWYER
Following a November 2014 hearing, judges Mary Lou Benotto, David Watt and Michael Tulloch’s decision dismissed the officers’ conviction appeals, writing that perjury strikes “at the very root of our justice system” and “public confidence in the honesty of the police is fundamental to the integrity of the criminal justice system.”
“When the perpetrators of the crime are police officers sworn to uphold the law, the objective of denunciation has heightened significance. Police officers owe a special duty to be faithful to the justice system,” read the decision.
The conditional sentences “do not reflect society’s condemnation of the conduct. Nor do they address the need to denounce the crimes and are thus demonstratively unfit,” the judges wrote.
They accepted the Crown’s cross-appeals of the sentences imposed on the officers and agreed with a suggested substitute sentence of three years in prison, but did not enforce the harsher penalties.
“However, in the light of all of the circumstances, particularly the passage of time since the sentences were first imposed and the fact that the sentences imposed have been served, I would order that the operation of the sentences be stayed,” the decision read.
Toronto defence lawyer Peter Rosenthal said the judges’ final decision undercuts the strong language they used to denounce the officers’ crimes.
“We don’t know how often (police perjury) really goes on, but there are a disturbing number of cases coming to light. In this case, one of the few cases where it was proved beyond a reasonable doubt, it sends a very mixed message to police officers.”
The 45-day conditional sentence — not very long for a conditional sentence, according to the lawyer — was not particularly onerous, Rosenthal said.
“In my view, it was only appropriate to make them serve at least part of the three-year sentence.”
If a member of the public were convicted of the same crime, the sentence given likely would have been more in line with the three-year penalty than the 45-day sentence the officers served, said Ian Scott, a lawyer and the former director of the Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit.
Everybody loses when police lie, he said.
“The courts and the Crown and the public rely upon the police to tell the truth in their notes and tell the truth when they go to courts. The whole system’s predicated on their honesty.”
Reid Rusonik, a Toronto criminal lawyer, said to better guarantee honesty on the stand, police culture has to change, starting with training. “(Police officers) have to be indoctrinated from the beginning not to lie.”
Only one of the accused — Correia — remains a police officer. After the sentencing in January 2013, he was suspended without pay. Any disciplinary hearings against him would have to wait until all appeals are concluded, police spokesperson Mark Pugash told the Star at the time. Toronto police did not return a request for comment Monday. With files from Rosie Dimanno and Peter Small