MAN CHARGED 'BECAUSE OF HIS RACE,' JUDGE FINDS

Drug charges against a Toronto man have been thrown out after a
Superior Court justice found police engaged in racial profiling when
they pulled his vehicle over and then lied about it in court.

Justice Frances Kiteley found police "had no lawful basis to pull Mr.
(Irshad) Ahmed over" on Nov. 25, 2008, while he was driving in
Toronto's west end.

Constables Justyn Humeniuk and Ryan Willmer of 23 Division said they
pulled 26-year-old Ahmed over because he ran a red light. Kiteley
rejected that explanation, saying the officers had "lied." "He did
nothing to cause the police officers to pay attention to him," she
wrote in an 11-page ruling released Wednesday.

"I am compelled to draw the inference that Mr. Ahmed was investigated
and arbitrarily detained because of his race," the judge wrote.

"I'm happy for Mr. Ahmed," his lawyer, Gary Grill, said Wednesday.
"But he's been in jail for a year because of the colour of his skin."

This is the second time a judge has concluded officers lied in court
about their dealings with Ahmed. Last year, a judge found officers
used excessive force when Tasering Ahmed; Ahmed was sent to jail for
75 days for obstructing police.

The court heard a tape of the incident in which an officer is heard
taunting Ahmed, who was lying face down in broken glass.