POLICE 'PHYSICALLY ABUSED' SUSPECTS IN RAID, JUDGE RULES

Firearms Charges Thrown Out After Testimony of Drug Squad Officers
Called 'Unreliable, Likely False'

A judge has thrown out firearms charges against two men, ruling that
drug squad officers storming a west Toronto apartment used excessive
force, and that much of their testimony is "unreliable, likely false."

Ontario Superior Court Justice Brian Trafford entered findings of not
guilty for Shayne Fisher, 24, and Valter Almeida, 23, who were
arrested when police battered down the door of a known crack house on
Lawrence Ave. W., west of Keele St.

"Clearly, the defendants were physically abused by the TPS (Toronto
Police Service) when they were arrested on June 7, 2006," Trafford
said in his 81-page ruling, released in written form this week.

"Other legal rights, such as the right of Mr. Fisher to retain and
instruct counsel, were also infringed."

Seven drug squad officers barged into the apartment to execute a drug
search warrant. Almeida, Fisher and their friend and apartment
resident Steven Ruiz, who the judge found to be a crack dealer, were
inside. Ruiz has pleaded guilty to charges arising from the raid. He
testified he threw all three handguns in the apartment over the
balcony just before police broke through his door. All three men
testified they did not resist arrest, but were beaten anyway.

Defence lawyers Allan Lobel, acting for Fisher, and Alana Page,
acting for Almeida, argued that police fabricated evidence.

Lobel said yesterday that Fisher "is elated" with the ruling. He said
it was clear that officers made up the evidence of resisting arrest
to justify the excessive force that sent four of five suspects to hospital.

The building superintendent and a neighbour testified they heard the
screams and yells of people apparently in pain coming from the flat.
Trafford found that the screaming was caused by "the infliction of
these injuries" by police.

Fisher suffered a fractured rib, a perforated right eardrum, and
bruising around the right eye. Dr. Brian Goldman, who examined him at
Mount Sinai Hospital, said a minimum of four blows caused the injuries.

The judge said he believed Fisher when he testified that Det.-Const.
Gerrard Arulanandam threatened him with further bodily harm if he
asked for medical attention when he arrived at the police station.

Almeida suffered abrasions on his forehead, back, neck and legs. His
nose was bloodied. Although the living room and dining room were
stained with considerable fresh blood, police officers did not
photograph it, the judge noted.

Trafford also found that two other men, Kenneth Yu and Manuel Perea,
were unlawfully arrested.

The judge ruled that important parts of the evidence gathered by
police against the defendants were "unreliable, likely false."

Trafford found that police tried to justify their use of force by
alleging Fisher had a handgun, which they said he tossed toward the
balcony, where they claimed Ruiz and Almeida were situated,
apparently acting in concert with him. "This allegation is, at best,
unreliable and likely false," the judge said.