4 Toronto police officers charged with perjury, obstructing justice

Four Toronto police officers have been arrested and charged with 17 offences nine counts of obstructing justice and eight counts of perjury, Chief Mark Saunders told a news conference this morning.

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The four officers charged are:

• Const. Jeffrey Tout, 41,17 years ofservice,assigned to 55 Division.It is allegedheprovided false court testimony, andis charged withtwocounts of obstructing justice and twocounts of perjury.
• Det. Const. Benjamin Elliott, 32, nine yearsofservice, 55 Division. Charged with threecounts of obstructingjustice and threecounts of perjury.
• Const. Michael Taylor, 34, 11 years ofservice,51 Division. Charged with twocounts of obstructing justice, one count of perjury.
• Det. Const. Fraser Douglas, 37, 14 years ofservice,55 Division. Charged with twocounts of obstructing justice, twocounts of perjury.

"We will not tolerate any bad behaviour of any kind," Saunders told reporters Thursday after announcing the charges."Anything that questions the integrity of the Toronto Police Service concerns me."

Saunderswould not comment about the specifics of the case, butsaid he hasassembled a special team of professional standards investigators to look at other cases involving the officers, to see if there is "any other cause of concern."

The four officers have been suspended with pay while the case goes to court.

Saunders says thatunder the Police Services Act, their pay can't be suspendedwhile the case works its way through the court system.

Mayor John Tory,at a morning news conference streamed live on CBC.ca shortly after the charges were announced,said he believes the case "will be dealtwith appropriately."

"In a big organization like this, are you going to have incidents like thissometimes in bunchesthat are incidents that are troubling and concerning? Of course. The real measure is how you handle those and how you deal with those," Torysaid.

The charges arise from the arrest of Nguyen Son Tran on January 15, 2014. The investigation was carried out by TPS Professional Standards.

Charges against man dismissed

Last September, an Ontario Superior Court judge dismissed charges against the man,whowas accused of possessingheroin on Jan. 13, 2014.

Justice Edward Morgan concludedthe officers concocted a false storyabout why they stopped the man and searched his car.

Morgan also ruled the officers falsely testified they foundloose heroin powder on the dashboard, which led to a search that uncovered 11 more grams of the drug wrapped and hidden behind the car's steering column.

Morgan ruledthedrugs seized during the search were not admissible as evidence and dismissed the charges against Tran.

Week of bad news 'an anomaly,' chief says

The charges against the four officers come during an already difficult week for Canada's largest police force.

• Earlier this week,Const. James Forcillo was found guiltyof attempted murder in the shooting of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim aboard a Toronto streetcar in 2013.
• On Wednesday, a Toronto police officer was charged under the Police Services Act for firing 14 bullets into the engine block of a stopped car during an arrest in September that was captured on video.

Saunders said these incidents are not evidence of awider problem within the force, andthe majority of Toronto police officers do their work with honour and integrity.

"It certainly has been an anomaly week when it comes to our service," said Saunders. "We will get through this and we will do our best to get the public trust back that we have lost in some areas."

Police union head Mike McCormack says the officers were arrestedearlier this morning and released before 9 a.m. All are scheduled toappear in court on March 11.

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