POLICE SUPERVISORS IGNORED BEATING - REPORT

TORONTO -- An investigation into allegations of corruption against a police
drug squad in Toronto has turned up evidence that police supervisors
ignored a brutal beating of a suspect five years ago.

According to a report obtained by CBC Radio News, a lack of action by
supervisors allowed the incident to go undetected.

The report is by two investigators who are part of a special task force
assigned to look into allegations of corruption. The investigation began
after more than 200 cases had to be dropped because of questions about how
drug investigators did their jobs.

The report says police supervisors failed to act on complaints about a
beating. It says the supervisors, when interviewed, said they couldn't
remember the situation.

The report backs up the story of Chris Quigley, who filed a suit against
police a year ago.

Quigley says he was interrogated, tortured and robbed by drug investigators
five years ago.

He says police arrested him at gunpoint.

Quigley says officers accused him of hiding marijuana and alternately
questioned and beat him for hours.

In his lawsuit, he says police not only beat him but they stole thousands
of dollars from his safety deposit box. Peter Biro, Quigley's lawyer, says
there's additional evidence that his client's complaints were ignored.

"The findings reveal a shocking failure to treat seriously a very serious
complaint of abuse and misconduct," Biro said.

The report includes notes from officers who saw Quigley emerge from a
holding cell bleeding, vomiting blood and struggling to breathe because he
said he'd been kicked in the ribs.

It says drug officers interrogated Quigley for nine hours with no access to
a lawyer, no food and no medical treatment.

Police in Toronto aren't saying anything about the report because Quigley
has filed a civil lawsuit against them.