TORONTO POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING

A veteran Toronto police officer has been charged with a number of
drug-related offences after an investigation of the Toronto police by a
special task force headed by a senior Mountie.

Detective Constable Robert William Kelly, a 12-year officer who was a
member of the northwest field command drug squad, is free on bail after an
appearance in a Brampton court on Saturday, his lawyer Gary Clewley said
yesterday.

On Friday, Det. Constable Kelly was arrested by internal affairs officers
and charged with two counts of possession of narcotics for the purposes of
trafficking, one count of trafficking in a controlled substance and one
count of criminal breach of trust, according to a Toronto Police Service
statement.

It said that the charges were the result of a joint investigation by the
Professional Standards Task Force and the internal affairs division. They
are the first charges laid by the task force, which was created in August
by Police Chief Julian Fantino to probe allegations of misbehaviour on the
police force, including charges that officers stole money and lied during
court testimony.

While the task force's investigations are conducted by the Toronto police's
own internal affairs officers, it is headed by RCMP superintendent John
Neilly, who was brought in to ensure impartiality in the investigation.

The chief created the task force after a scandal led to Crown attorneys
dropping or staying charges earlier this year in 115 drug cases, involving
hundreds of people accused of drug-dealing.

Most of the charges were dropped because the credibility of police evidence
was strained when 13 Toronto police officers were charged with dipping into
a fund out of which payments were made to informants.

Norm Gardner, chairman of the Toronto Police Services Board, said that he
was saddened that charges were laid against an officer.