OFFICER DEFERS PLEA IN DOG SHOOTING

A London police officer charged with misconduct made his first appearance at
a hearing under the Police Services Act yesterday for his role in a botched
drug raid that killed a pet dog. Det. Const. Lou Lovsin is charged with
misconduct for not "promptly and diligently" fulfilling his duty.

Lovsin did not enter a plea yesterday, deciding to defer doing so until his
lawyer, Mike Epstein, could be present.

In April, the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services ordered the
hearing after concluding that Lovsin may have committed a serious misconduct
after using four-month-old information to obtain a search warrant.

The warrant was used to enter Marcie Carroll's Oxford Street apartment on
Oct. 23, 2002, in a search for drugs.

Carroll's pet dog, named Bear, was shot four times during the search
operation.

It was later revealed that during the four-month delay, the individual being
sought by police had moved out and Carroll had moved in.

An internal investigation by city police found that some officers -- not
those involved in the apartment search -- knew the suspect no longer lived
there but had not recorded it.

Even after the internal probe, Deputy Chief Tony McGowan concluded that the
officers were not guilty of misconduct.

"This case is demonstrative of the sloppy police work that led to the very
serious errors that could have avoided the entire tragedy from occurring,"
Faisal Joseph, Carroll's lawyer, said yesterday.

Lovsin indicated he didn't establish the correct address because he was
concerned about tipping off friends of the person being sought.

The police officer was emotionless throughout the brief hearing yesterday.

He sat next to Dan Axford, administrator for the London Police Association,
at police headquarters where the hearing was held.

The hearing lasted less than five minutes but was delayed for nearly 30
minutes while Axford, Joseph and Steven Boorne, a Toronto lawyer appointed
as prosecuting attorney, met privately.

When they emerged, reporters were called into a separate boardroom and told
they wouldn't be allowed to photograph inside the boardroom where the
hearing was taking place or in a lobby directly outside the room.

The hearing has been put over to July 8.