JURORS DIVIDED ON SHANK VERDICT

Deliberations continue today after judge twice says to keep at it

A jury today will try to do what it found impossible yesterday - decide the
fate of Toronto Detective-Constable Rick Shank, charged with manslaughter in
the death of a suspected crack dealer.

Twice yesterday the jury told Mr. Justice Eugene Ewaschuk that it couldn't
reach a decision. Twice he sent the 12 jurors back to deliberate. By 10
p.m., after 12 gruelling hours, he sent them to their hotel to sleep.

Shank, 29, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the March 30, 1997,
death of Hugh Dawson, who was shot nine times during a drug takedown in
Scarborough.

Yesterday, the third day of deliberations, Shank's friends and colleagues in
the Toronto police department showed their support. Chief David Boothby
arrived in the afternoon in full uniform, then showed his support again last
night, in civilian clothes.

While the show of support outside the courtroom was impressive, the
manoeuvrings inside the courtroom were dramatic.

At 9:30 p.m., the jurors sent a handwritten note to Ewaschuk, saying ``We
are a proceeding with a further review of the evidence. But we do not know
if it will result in a consensus.''

Six hours earlier, a wave of excitement swept the court house when it was
announced that the jurors were coming back in. But they only wanted to tell
the judge of their difficulty in coming to a decision.

The jury consisted of six men and six women. None of the jurors was black,
but three were members of visible minority groups. They described themselves
as a cashier, assembler, salesperson, millwright, nurse, engineer,
economist, two clerks, two housewives and one unemployed woman.

As Shank left for the night, Boothby had a few encouraging words for him but
said nothing to the media.

During the five-week trial, the crown alleged that Shank used excessive
force during the arrest by seven undercover drug officers on Kennedy Rd.,
just south of Danforth Rd.

The officer's defence was that he had feared for his life and the life of
his fellow officer, Rajeev Sukumaran, and had no choice but to shoot Dawson
as he fought to get their weapons.

Dawson was unarmed and strapped into the driver's seat of his Honda during
the take down, that saw terrified civilians caught in the middle of the
chaos.

Scores of police officers milled about on the fourth floor of the University
Ave. courthouse throughout the day as they waited for word from the jury.

Senior officers joined rank and file officers, many of whom were from
Scarborough, where Shank works.

``Everybody is anxious for the outcome,'' Deputy Police Chief Bob Kerr, said
outside the courthouse. ``Everybody is on hinges.''

Kerr said his presence in court was a sign that Boothby was behind Shank and
also an acknowledgment of the police ``brotherhood,'' which every officer is
proud to be part of.

``They're here to show their moral support,'' Kerr said.

Kerr was joined later in the day by Boothby and other high-ranking officers.

Boothby said there was no significance to him being in uniform; he had just
attended a series of formal functions.

Boothby took time to chat with many of the uniformed and plainclothesed
officers present, and like them, declined comment.

Shank was nowhere to be seen for most of the day and remained mostly in the
office of his lawyer Austin Cooper across the street from the courthouse.

With him were his mother, stepfather, brother and wife Nicole, a police
officer with the Kitchener-Waterloo Region police force, a police officer
said.

As the hours wore on, many police officers became increasingly concerned
about what might be happening inside the jury room.

Most had believed the jury would come back with a quick verdict on Wednesday
and had planned a large party.

But instead of celebrating into the wee hours of yesterday, anxious officers
sipped on their beers at a nearby hotel pondering what lay ahead for their
colleague.

At about 3:20, word came that the jury was coming back in.

Courtroom 4-9, which usually seats about 100 people, was quickly filled with
police officers, media and curious onlookers.

The crush prompting a court commissionaire to eject a phalanx of uniformed
officers who were standing in the back of the courtroom.

Shank walked in with Cooper, but before taking his seat in the prisoner's
dock, walked over to his wife Nicole and gave her a kiss.

Then the wait began.

Shank quietly walked up and down the front of the court facing the seated
crowd for a short while - saying nothing - and then took his seat in the
prisoner's dock where he sat looking straight ahead, stroking his chin from
time to time.

But instead of a verdict, the jurors told Ewaschuk that they couldn't come
to a unanimous decision.

Their was pin-drop silence inside the packed courtroom when the news was
delivered, and Boothby and many of his senior commanders had to wait outside
in the hallway as the judge asked the jury to keep trying.

In a handwritten note to the Ewaschuk, the jury foreman stated that that
they were ``unable to reach a verdict through consensus.

``Each juror has come to their conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt. We
don't believe we can reach a consensus with further review of the
evidence,'' the note read.

But Ewaschuk said he wasn't going to call a mistrial just yet and urged the
jury members to go back to deliberating.

He didn't specify how long they should continue to try and reach a verdict.

Checked-by: Don Beck