SOMETIMES THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW NEEDS TO HAVE ITS KNUCKLES RAPPED

Police Tribunal Disciplined About 20 In 1998

Sex, Drugs And, Well, Poor Judgment

The Toronto force's annual report on discipline shows that, over-all,
the city's finest are indeed a good bunch, but there are a few problem
officers who just don't seem to get it.

One was the constable who took a man he met at a bar back to his place
for a little recreational drug use and hanky-panky. After downing Valium
and smoking some pot and hashish with his new friend, the officer offered
the man $50 to masturbate in front of him. According to the official
police report on the incident, contained in Professional Standards Annual
report for 1998, the ``individual complied'' with the unnamed constable's
request.

While it's not known how this particular officer's superiors found out
about his off-duty hijinks, they clearly were not amused. The officer
was tried before a police tribunal - commonly referred to by the rank
and file as the kangaroo court - and knocked down from a first-class
to a second-class constable for a year, meaning a cut in pay.

Although it's rare to see an officer fired for misconduct, the force
does deal with dozens of cases of alleged misdeeds each year, and
punishes the few transgressors it finds by docking pay or demoting the
officer.

Last year, 76 cases involving 153 Police Act charges went through the
force's internal court system. Some of the incidents, which could
include criminal allegations, date back as far as 1994. The discipline
report shows that very few officers - fewer than 1 per cent of the force's
5,000 uniformed officers - ever find themselves before the force's
tribunal. Of those who did stand trial for alleged police services act
violations last year, the report shows that about 20 officers pleaded
guilty or were found guilty of misconduct. Some cases were thrown out
because the officer retired, leaving the force with no jurisdiction. Others
were resolved after the officer was disciplined by the unit commander,
without a trial.

The report, which doesn't name any of the officers disciplined, looks
at misconduct trends. For example, it found that of the 76 cases completed
last year, alcohol was a factor in nearly 20 per cent. The number of
incidents involving alcohol has risen steadily over the past few years,
going from one in seven in 1996 and one in six in 1997 to one in five last
year, the report said.
Over-all, however, 1998 was the third consecutive year to see a drop
in alleged misconduct, it said.

Public complaints are also down significantly. Last year, 619
complaints were filed against police officers, the lowest number in 15
years.

Here's a snapshot of some of the discipline matters the force handled
in 1998:

RECEIPT DECEIT: An off-duty female officer was reprimanded after a
department store caught her trying to use a $114 sales receipt to
return items she hadn't purchased. The officer left the store with her
original purchases and put them in her car. She then returned to the
store, picked out the exact same items, and tried to use the receipt
to get a refund. The officer was not charged based on the store's
policy, the report said.

POOR JUDGMENT: Twenty days' pay was the penalty handed an officer who
``initiated and maintained'' an intimate, personal relationship with a
sex assault victim while he was in charge of investigating her case.
The officer pleaded guilty to a discreditable conduct charge last December.

RADAR RAGE: A motorist pulled over for speeding got an earful from an
officer operating a radar unit. The police tribunal ruled the officer
went overboard when he pointed at the driver and yelled obscenities at
him. The officer pleaded not guilty to a charge of unlawful exercise
of authority, but was found guilty and docked three days' pay.

OFF LIMITS: While on duty, an officer frequented a residence knowing
that it was being used for prostitution. At trial, the officer was
cleared of discreditable conduct, but the case was then reviewed by
the force's internal discipline review committee. The officer ended up
accepting a penalty of five days off, handed down by his unit
commander. It was the same penalty his boss had recommended before the
case went to trial.

PUBLIC SCENE: An off-duty officer was found guilty of two counts of
discreditable conduct and docked four days' pay after he allegedly
assaulted a female friend in a bar and threatened to ``put a bullet in
her head and kill her dogs.'' The officer was also charged criminally
with threatening and assault. The status of the criminal charges is
not known.