DRUG-SQUAD OFFICER'S HEARING BEGINS

Defence Suggests Cocaine Possession, Use Are Required To Play A Convincing
Undercover Role

BRAMPTON -- A Toronto police officer who admitted cocaine use, providing
the drug to an informant and placing bets with the man, should not be
saddled with a criminal record because of the stress of undercover work, a
court was told yesterday at his sentencing hearing.

The difficulties and dangers encountered by undercover drug-squad officers,
instead of the actions of Detective Constable Robert Kelly, were the focus
of the first day of a scheduled four-day proceeding.

Crown attorney John North said written submissions filed by the defence
suggested "that being an undercover officer requires one to use cocaine."

"That proposition is quite startling," he told the court.

Det. Constable Kelly, a 14-year police veteran and former member of the
north/west field command drug squad, has been suspended with pay since his
arrest in November, 2001, on three trafficking-related charges and one
count of criminal breach of trust.

He was the first officer arrested by a special RCMP-led internal task force
that has been probing allegations of corruption by Toronto police drug
squads for more than two years. The task force is expected to wrap up its
work this fall by announcing the arrest of several members of a
now-disbanded drug squad.

Det. Constable Kelly, 37, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of
possession of cocaine after a plea bargain was reached with federal
prosecutors.

The officer took over as the "handler" of a police informant in the summer
of 2001 while he was a member of the north/west squad.

Det. Constable Kelly soon began to bet on horse races and share small
quantities of cocaine with the informant, according to an agreed statement
of facts filed with the court.

Within a few months, the informant and Det. Constable Kelly had a dispute
over a $25,000 betting "windfall," allegedly owed to the officer. The
informant contacted the police internal-affairs department, which began an
investigation, the court documents state.

The investigating officers observed Det. Constable Kelly, who was on duty
at the time, hand over a bag containing about three grams of cocaine to the
informant on Nov. 9, 2001, according to the agreed statement of facts.

The informant gave the officer $3,000 to pay a portion of the gambling debt.

A week later, the officer was arrested in his car as he was preparing a
small amount of cocaine to consume with the agent.

The ultimate decision for Mr. Justice Ian Cowan of Ontario Court is not
whether Det. Constable Kelly should be sent to jail.

The prosecution is seeking a six-month conditional sentence, with three
months to be served as house arrest.

Defence lawyer Peter Brauti is asking for a conditional discharge, which is
not recorded as a criminal conviction.

Medical experts are scheduled to testify at the sentencing hearing that
Det. Constable Kelly developed a cocaine addiction because of personal and
professional stress.

Detective Sargeant Larry Cowley, his former supervisor, testified yesterday
that Det. Constable Kelly was an "outstanding officer." Undercover work is
extremely dangerous, Det. Sgt. Cowley said, describing street-level drug
buys as "30 seconds of terror."

He rejected suggestions that officers may need to use drugs to be
convincing in their undercover role. "Absolutely not," he replied.