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Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
16 November 2007

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Toronto Police Service, ON

Canada: 9 officers in court on

Today will not be the finest day for Toronto's finest as nine police officers appear in court in four cases � with criminal charges ranging from sexual assault to perjury, extortion and corruption.

"The cases before the courts are all allegations. Allow the facts to come out and let due process happen before making any judgments," said Dave Wilson, head of the Toronto Police Association.

He labelled as "coincidence" the fact that the four cases were all taking place on the same day at the Superior Court of Justice on University Ave.

"Yes, it's true, all the cases are on, but what else can I say about it?" said a spokesperson for Canada's largest municipal police force, who declined further comment.

In addition to the nine officers, two other members of the force were each charged yesterday in unrelated cases. Const. Doug Schouten, 41, is a 19-year veteran of the force, while 42-year-old Stanley Dobrzynski is an eight-year civilian employee. Both face assault charges.

In two weeks, a preliminary hearing will continue into corruption charges against two other Toronto police officers, Const. William McCormack and Const. Rick McIntosh, the former head of the police union. One of today's cases is an appeal of an earlier conviction in which Const. Roy Preston was given a 30-day jail sentence after being found guilty of assaulting Said Jama Jama outside a Rexdale coffee shop in August 2003, an incident that was caught on videotape.

A spokesperson for the force said that Preston has been suspended with full pay following his August 2005 conviction for assault, and will remain on salary until the appeal process ends.

In one of the most high profile cases, a pre-trial hearing continues today into extortion and assault charges against six members of an elite drug squad charged in 2004, two of whom have since retired.

The trial for retired Staff Sgt. John Schertzer and Constables Steven Correia, Raymond Pollard, Richard Benoit, Ned Maodus and Joseph Miched, also retired, was to have started in January, but has been delayed at least a month for legal arguments which are covered by a publication ban.

The trial that easily drew the most attention involved Constable Joseph Green, where a packed public gallery listened to allegations that he groped the breasts of an exotic dancer at For Your Eyes Only, and pointed his firearm at her.

In the fourth case, Const. Amar Katoch, 48, has been accused of assaulting a 36-year-old professor at Wilfrid Laurier University during an anti-poverty march in November, 2003.

The 17-year veteran is also charged with perjury and attempting to obstruct justice.

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Article sourced from

Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada16 November 2007

Canada: 9 officers in court on

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Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
16 November 2007