COCAINE CONVICTION THROWN OUT

A MAN'S cocaine trafficking conviction was thrown out by the Ontario Court
of Appeal yesterday, even though the justices did not accept his argument
that his arrest was based on racial profiling. Instead, the appeal panel
ruled Christopher Byfield was illegally searched by two Toronto cops who
stopped him on Kingston Rd. in May 2001.

"While the officers had reasonable grounds to detain the appellant, they
did not have reasonable grounds to arrest or search ... and the search was
not justified for the purpose of officer safety," Justice Marc Rosenberg wrote.

Byfield had argued the officers pulled him over because he was black.

Byfield was stopped after officers watched what looked to be a drug sale
between him and a street prostitute. Where police overstepped their bounds
was by frisking his groin area after noticing a bulge -- before he was
placed under arrest, Rosenberg said.