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Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
25 July 2007

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Internal affairs `bully' censu

Toronto police are probing a judge's accusation that a senior officer broke the law while trying to gather evidence into alleged wrongdoing by a group of drug squad members.

The actions of internal affairs Insp. Bryce Evans were "over the line and unlawful" in trying to "bully" his way onto an Ontario Provincial Police team about to search the home of a Toronto officer facing assault charges, Justice Casey Hill said in a 142-page judgment on a Charter challenge.

Following a search of the home of N.N.M. � under a court order, the officer can only be identified by initials � police laid further charges after finding illicit narcotics and weapons. But in his ruling, Hill tossed out the seized evidence, citing the "extremely serious" constitutional violations against N.N.M., such as an "unreasonable and unnecessary" strip search and the prolonged surveillance of his home by the OPP.

"We're looking at that very closely," police spokesperson Mark Pugash said of Hill's remarks. "We take any comments made by a judge very seriously."

Evans had asked an OPP junior officer to let him and two colleagues tag along with an OPP team waiting to search the house to gather evidence in their assault case against N.N.M., said Hill. She had been alone in her detachment that March evening in 2002, filing an affidavit for the "public safety warrant," when Evans and two officers walked in "unannounced and uninvited," said Hill.

An OPP tactical team had surrounded N.N.M.'s rural home, fearing that he was armed, suicidal and was vowing to kill any police who came near, said Hill. The officer was arrested later without incident.

Although Evans had no legal grounds to join the house search, he wanted to "piggy back" onto the OPP warrant, said the judge.

When the OPP officer turned down Evans' request, he became insistent, refusing to "take no for an answer," said the judge.

"Let's do this," Evans told the OPP officer over and over "in a bullying manner," said Hill, in his account of what was said at the station.

The OPP officer told Evans his probe of N.M.M. and his drug squad colleagues were unrelated to the assault allegations.

Evans, who is also the lead investigator into alleged police corruption in the Entertainment District, then came up with another idea.

He said he and his team could wait outside the home and the OPP could bring out any potential evidence, such as notebooks, relevant to their investigation.

After his team had gone over the evidence, the Toronto inspector said, it could then be quietly put back in the house, wrote Hill.

The OPP officer refused.

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Article sourced from

Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada25 July 2007

Internal affairs `bully' censu

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Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
25 July 2007