Binky
05-19-2005, 09:03 AM
Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: editor@tor.sunpub.com
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Author: Alan Cairns, Toronto Sun
EX-COKE ADDICT COP BACK
Firing 'Harsh,' Officer Reinstated - Without Gun
FORMERLY cocaine-addicted Toronto drug cop Rob Kelly is back on the job.
But he won't be back on the beat -- at least not for now.
Kelly, 38, who was ordered to resign or be fired from Toronto Police last year after admitting to giving cocaine to an informant twice was yesterday ordered reinstated by Ontario's police watchdog.
Toronto Police internal hearings officer Supt. Tony Warr's effective firing of Kelly was "unduly harsh and punitive," the Ontario Civilian Commission On Policing Services ( OCCOPS ) ruled.
The three-member panel -- Murray Chitra, Peter Doucet and Hyacinthe Miller - -- ruled that instead of being fired, Kelly should be stripped of his gun, demoted in rank, given desk work and be subject to work and medical monitoring conditions as police prosecutors and Kelly's lawyer laid out in a "last-chance" joint submission that Warr rejected.
Kelly, a 16-year police veteran with a stellar record, became the subject of an RCMP sting in November 2001 after a police informant alleged Kelly had threatened him over $25,000 in race horse winnings.
RCMP officers secretly watched as the on-duty Kelly gave the informant 3.15 grams of cocaine and prepared the drug for the two in his car.
After initially facing two counts of possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking, Kelly pleaded guilty to two lesser charges of possession of cocaine in March 2004.
Noting that Kelly had an impeccable record of heroic police service, Brampton Justice Ian Cowan ordered a suspended sentence, two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
At a subsequent Police Services Act hearing before Warr, Kelly pleaded guilty to two counts of discreditable conduct and admitted that while on duty on two occasions he gave the informant 3.15 grams of cocaine and then provided cocaine for both of them.
Father Died
Warr heard Kelly was working an average 70 hours a week in a "dangerous and stressful" job as an undercover drug cop when he "started to associate with his undercover persona." At the same time, Kelly's father died and his nine-year common-law relationship ended.
Evidence showed Kelly rehabilitated himself by undergoing intensive drug addiction programs and up to 400 hours of counselling.
The OCCOPS panel said that addiction is defined as a "handicap" under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
When that addiction is "in some fashion work-related, is acknowledged, treated, and is unlikely to reoccur," these elements should "bear significantly" on the prospects of rehabilitation, the panel said.
Kelly will be demoted from first-class to fourth-class constable. He will work as a booking officer without a gun and will be subjected to random drug and psychological tests.
Copyright: 2005, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: editor@tor.sunpub.com
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Author: Alan Cairns, Toronto Sun
EX-COKE ADDICT COP BACK
Firing 'Harsh,' Officer Reinstated - Without Gun
FORMERLY cocaine-addicted Toronto drug cop Rob Kelly is back on the job.
But he won't be back on the beat -- at least not for now.
Kelly, 38, who was ordered to resign or be fired from Toronto Police last year after admitting to giving cocaine to an informant twice was yesterday ordered reinstated by Ontario's police watchdog.
Toronto Police internal hearings officer Supt. Tony Warr's effective firing of Kelly was "unduly harsh and punitive," the Ontario Civilian Commission On Policing Services ( OCCOPS ) ruled.
The three-member panel -- Murray Chitra, Peter Doucet and Hyacinthe Miller - -- ruled that instead of being fired, Kelly should be stripped of his gun, demoted in rank, given desk work and be subject to work and medical monitoring conditions as police prosecutors and Kelly's lawyer laid out in a "last-chance" joint submission that Warr rejected.
Kelly, a 16-year police veteran with a stellar record, became the subject of an RCMP sting in November 2001 after a police informant alleged Kelly had threatened him over $25,000 in race horse winnings.
RCMP officers secretly watched as the on-duty Kelly gave the informant 3.15 grams of cocaine and prepared the drug for the two in his car.
After initially facing two counts of possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking, Kelly pleaded guilty to two lesser charges of possession of cocaine in March 2004.
Noting that Kelly had an impeccable record of heroic police service, Brampton Justice Ian Cowan ordered a suspended sentence, two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
At a subsequent Police Services Act hearing before Warr, Kelly pleaded guilty to two counts of discreditable conduct and admitted that while on duty on two occasions he gave the informant 3.15 grams of cocaine and then provided cocaine for both of them.
Father Died
Warr heard Kelly was working an average 70 hours a week in a "dangerous and stressful" job as an undercover drug cop when he "started to associate with his undercover persona." At the same time, Kelly's father died and his nine-year common-law relationship ended.
Evidence showed Kelly rehabilitated himself by undergoing intensive drug addiction programs and up to 400 hours of counselling.
The OCCOPS panel said that addiction is defined as a "handicap" under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
When that addiction is "in some fashion work-related, is acknowledged, treated, and is unlikely to reoccur," these elements should "bear significantly" on the prospects of rehabilitation, the panel said.
Kelly will be demoted from first-class to fourth-class constable. He will work as a booking officer without a gun and will be subjected to random drug and psychological tests.