DRUG OFFICER'S RIGHTS VIOLATED: JUDGE

A veteran Toronto drug squad officer has been cleared of possessing hash by
a judge who ruled his rights had been violated.

Yesterday's decision is vindication for Const. Mark Denton, who has found
the process of being an accused police officer an "awful experience,"
lawyer Harry Black said.

The judge said three of Denton's Charter rights -- including right to
counsel, unlawful search and seizure, and unlawful detention-- were
violated during his arrest by OPP on Jan. 14, 2000, when the vehicle he was
driving was pulled over in Newmarket.

Justice Bill Gorewich dismissed the charge of possession for the purposes
of trafficking.

"It's very gratifying that Justice Gorewich found the evidence established
every single violation we alleged," Black said. It was alleged that Denton
was on his way home off-duty in an undercover police van when he was
stopped by OPP, who were hunting for an impaired driver in a van.

Black said OPP searched the van and allegedly found 145 grams of hash. He
said Denton was kept locked in an OPP cruiser for two hours and interrogated.