Scanned, recopied or Internet copy, if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections: Opening comments: More at the end. “Nothing has happened. No charges have been laid and internal affairs appears to be asleep at the wheel.” Interesting no reporter noted for this article. Finally the most important detail !!!!! To other related media articles - READ the whole Judges decision here Comments by others to this web-page - 4 - at time of posting. Torstar Network - Apr 29, 2012 Peel region police officer lied under oathAs he berated the drug dealer’s brother, Peel Police Const. Jay Kirkpatrick had no idea he wasThe audio from that conversation, once presented in court, would compromise a major drug bust and catch a police officer lying, under oath, on the witness stand. In September 2009, Peel police arrested Tan-Hung Dinh in a drug sting at a dingy Mississauga motel, seizing nearly a kilogram of cocaine, as well as other drugs. Constables Kirkpatrick, Ian Dann, Jason Hobson and Steve Roy then went to search the Dinh family home on Davenport Rd. in Toronto. They were supposed to secure the site and wait for a warrant. But they searched the house anyway, discovering a stockpile of drugs including two more kilos of cocaine, the judge found. The judge said the officers tried to cover up the illegal search and “all gave false evidence designed to mislead the court.” In court, with Kirkpatrick on the stand, Tan-Hung Dinh’s lawyer played the audio recorded by the defendant’s brother outside the Dinh family home. On the recording, the brother asked for Kirkpatrick’s name. “It’s Kirkpatrick. I’m not going to f------ repeat myself again. Now I’m getting upset. Okay?” The officer continued, “Your brother…was caught today with three kilos of cocaine and a pill press with ecstasy. It’s not a f------ laughing matter. That’s very serious stuff. Okay? He’s gone away for a long time now.” Here’s the problem: The recording was done five hours before police got a warrant to search the home. Kirkpatrick could not have known the total amount of cocaine — three kilos — if he had not already illegally searched the home. In court, Dinh’s lawyer, Leora Shemesh, stopped the recording, and asked the officer: “It’s somewhat coincidental isn’t it that you knew that there was a total of three kilograms of cocaine found?” Kirkpatrick scrambled for an explanation. He said he had misspoken and that he had never learned the exact amount of cocaine seized from Tan-Hung Dinh. Shemesh pressed Kirkpatrick. “I’m going to suggest to you the reason why you say three is because . . . (you were) in the house prior to the search warrant being issued.” “That would be incorrect,” Kirkpatrick responded. “So you just magically picked the number of three, which coincides with the very number that exists in this case?” she asked. “That’s correct,” Kirkpatrick said. Justice Deena Baltman slammed the police for lying in court. “This was not a case where police simply over-reacted in an urgent or dangerous situation,” Baltman said. “The police lied under oath in order to cover up the illegal search, and persisted in that lie when confronted with the most damning of evidence. “All these misdeeds were calculated, deliberate and utterly avoidable.” In a pre-trial Charter ruling last September, the judge excluded from evidence the drugs found in the home. In February, Tan-Hung Dinh pleaded guilty to trafficking the cocaine seized at the motel drug sting. The typical sentence for trafficking a pound of coke is five to eight years in prison. Because of the police misconduct, which also included assaulting Dinh at the motel, Dinh received a two-year conditional sentence, with one year served under house arrest. Following the ruling, Peel’s police chief ordered an internal investigation into the officers’ conduct. It is ongoing. When reached, Kirkpatrick, now working in Peel police’s civil litigation unit, directed any questions to the force’s media relations officers or Internal Affairs. “I can’t give a comment on any case that you’re asking me about,” he said. Outside the courtroom, Tan-Hung Dinh said he never disputed being a drug dealer. But the police must be held accountable for breaking the law. “It was wrong what they did,” he said. “It’s not the 1300’s where they can do whatever they want.” Comments by others, 4, to this web-page; Mantis May 1, 2012 7:21 AM Obviously Guilty Obviously guilty crimials should not benefit from mistakes made by the police. Agree | Disagree Report Abuse Mad Max Apr 30, 2012 9:21 PM @srfnglf I don't want criminals on the street but I do want the police to do their job properly in accordance with the law. When criminals get off because the police couldn't be bothered to follow the law, the police can only blame themselves. Agree 1 | Disagree Report Abuse srfnglf Apr 30, 2012 3:29 PM @ well-put \The cop or the criminal? Maybe you want criminals like that running around the city but I sure don't. Mississauga is one of the safest large cities in Canada and it's largely because of the work that Peel's Finest do... the police. Maybe you're upset cuz your dealer got busted. Agree 1 | Disagree 1 Report Abuse well-put Apr 30, 2012 8:23 AM Peel's finest!!! Home Page - Main Table of Contents - Back up a page - Back to Top [COMMENTS BY DON B. - ] |
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