DURHAM'S DRUG COPS PROBED

OPP Looking Into Complaint

The hunters are now the hunted.

Durham drug cops have the dubious distinction, along with their
counterparts in Toronto, of being the focus of a criminal investigation by
another police service.

"We've received a recent allegation of misconduct on the part of a small
number of members of our Durham unit," Chief Kevin McAlpine said.

"We've asked the OPP to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of
that."

McAlpine refused to detail the allegations or how many officers the
complaint covers, except to say it was a series of charges made by one
complainant in mid-January.

"All of that stuff is what the OPP will explore in detail with the
complainant," McAlpine said. "Until they have a chance to do that we just
don't want to prejudice the investigation."

All of the officers involved are still on the job, although some of them
are no longer with the drug squad due to scheduled staff changes, he said.

"It's the beginning of the year so some people have gone on to other jobs,"
he said. "To attribute any of that directly to this would just be
inappropriate."

Doug Cavanaugh, president of the Durham Regional Police Association, met
with the chief yesterday and asked the case be looked at thoroughly but
quickly.

"Sometimes these things hang around for great lengths of time and probably
cause more damage than the allegations themselves," he said.

Toronto's now-dissolved central field command drug squad has been the focus
of lawsuits and investigations dating back to 1999. RCMP Supt. John Neily
has been conducting his own probe since 2001.