![]() The officer also claimed to be able to see the lettering on the pills. The pills were in a bottle with the label ripped off, the officer said, which suggested the driver had no legitimate reason for having the pills. In 2015, a Toronto police officer testified that he noticed pills containing codeine on the passenger seat of a vehicle during a traffic stop. And defence lawyers who spoke with CBC News said judges are sometimes reluctant to put that on the record. (Manuel Carrillos Avalos/CBC)īut any database of information on police who have given false evidence in court would require clear findings from judges. "Any citizen should be able to go in, look up the name of a police officer, and find out what his or her conduct record is," he said.ĭefence lawyer Tom Engel says Edmonton's police chief should have more severely disciplined three officers behind a photo, posted to social media, that ridiculed a prisoner who was allegedly high on drugs. He said the records allow him to provide information on police officers to other lawyers and to help fill in gaps that develop when old police discipline records are expunged.Įngel, who maintains the records as chair of the policing committee for Alberta's Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association, believes information on police misconduct, including problematic testimony, should be available via a simple database search. Lawyer Tom Engel maintains a digital library of information on police misconduct that includes files on officers in Edmonton, Calgary and the RCMP. The search found cases involving police in Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver and other cities. Kim fabricated the assault allegation." 'I make these kinds of findings very reluctantly'ĬBC News learned of dozens of cases through news reports, filing access to information requests, speaking to defence lawyers about their recollections of cases, listening to recordings of courtroom proceedings, and other methods. York Regional Police maintain officers "did not provide false information." In an email to CBC News, the police force said an investigation by the neighbouring Peel Regional Police "clearly refuted the conclusions drawn" by the judge. York Regional Police dispute Gilmore's findings. Police officer-turned lawyer James Lowry says 'a small element' of police officers will break the rules if it leads to arrests. "We have to do this in order to clean up the streets to help the public," he said, describing the rationale of some officers. Lowry worries some officers may have an "end justifies the means" mentality. The results of the investigation are no surprise to James Lowry, a former Toronto police officer who investigated misconduct in his own police service before becoming a defence lawyer. CBC News reviewed more than 50 criminal cases over the past five years where judges found that police officers had given false or misleading testimony, and the case against the accused fell apart. Kim's case is just one example of a problem that's more prevalent than many Canadians might realize. Gilmore called Tompras's testimony about where Kim sat "disingenuous" and "bordering on ludicrous." The judge also found Tompras "fabricated" a claim about having notes to explain "how he was able to come up with precise times for events hours after they occurred." Investigation finds dozens of other cases Kim's shirt or any facial swelling would not be seen on camera." ![]() "The only inference to be drawn" from Kim's position to the camera, Gilmore wrote, was that it was chosen "to ensure that the blood on Mr. Gilmore threw out the case against Kim, who admitted to participating in the crime, after finding that police had assaulted him and covered up their actions. An Ontario judge said York Regional Police recorded this interview from behind to conceal injuries police inflicted on a robbery suspect in 2012. ![]()
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