For the fourth time in four years, Peel Regional Police Const. Darrell Corona has been reprimanded by a judge in a case in which criminal charges have been dismissed due to his interactions with a black man.
In a September decision, Brampton Superior Court Judge David Harris excluded evidence from a loaded pistol that Corona had seized, and concluded that Peel’s officer had racially profiled the 18-year-old black defendant, had violated his “human dignity” and had violated his constitutional rights. during an arrest on April 20, 2018 at a Malton apartment. Without proof of the weapon, the case was later dropped.
According to the ruling, Corona and another officer had placed the man and several other individuals under “investigative detention” following a low-priority, non-criminal “spam” call at the apartment building. Soon after, Corona searched the man and found a loaded pistol in a briefcase he was carrying.
In his testimony, Corona said the teen had made an “obvious” move to hide the portfolio from view, justifying the gun search. However, the other officer gave a contradictory version, saying that he did not recall the teenager making a clear move to hide the bag, a version of events that gave no reason for a search.
The defendant’s defense attorney, Carlos Rippell, had argued that Corona’s conduct amounted to an unreasonable search and seizure and arbitrary detention. In his decision, Harris agreed, noting that the search could not have been justified without Corona’s “deliberate and calculated” false account that the teenager had moved to conceal the wallet.
“The evidence shows that the use of racial profiling played a substantial role in the conduct of the police that led to the discovery of the firearm,” the judge wrote. He added: “It is difficult to imagine that the evidence obtained, at least in part, based on racial profiling, could survive and be admitted to trial.”
“Racial profiling is a particularly insidious form of racism. Zero tolerance and unequivocal denunciation is the only possible position to confront it ”.
The Star asked Corona to respond to Harris’s decision via phone and emails, but was redirected to Peel police media relations.
In a statement, the service said: “In light of the seriousness of the allegations, Peel police have begun an internal investigation into this matter,” but declined to comment further pending the conclusion of the investigation.
The service “takes complaints of statute violations, and in particular, those involving allegations of systemic racism, of the utmost seriousness,” the statement said.
Harris noted that Corona’s conduct and credibility have previously been criticized by Ontario judges in at least three other cases.
In 2017, Superior Court Judge Casey Hill acquitted a black man of drug charges after discovering that Corona had misled the court. The judge also criticized the officer for taking notes.
In 2018, Ontario Court Judge G. Paul Renwick threw evidence of a loaded pistol found in an 18-year-old black male after a traffic stop, and found that improper questioning of Corona during a routine traffic stop had led to an illegal search and arrest.
And, in 2019, Superior Court Judge James Stribopoulos threw evidence of another seized gun Corona had taken over a black man’s traffic stop in what the judge called a “deliberate” violation of the charter’s rights after the officer “carried out an investigative arrest based on little more than a hunch.”
Corona was investigated but not charged in the 2019 case.
He faced Police Services Law charges for the 2018 case, however these were later dropped with the stipulation that he would undergo mediation with the defendant. The defendant chose not to participate.
In Harris’s decision, he notes that Corona also acknowledged in cross-examination another police disciplinary matter in which charges were dropped in favor of mediation with the complainant. Once again, the complainant refused to participate.
Although none of the three previous judges made an explicit finding of racial profiling, Harris found that it was a very large part of the rulings in the 2018 and 2019 cases.
The judge separately commented that he found it “disturbing” that Corona’s charges in the 2018 case were dropped in favor of mediation with the defendant.
In their statement to the Star, Peel police said that “the informal resolutions in both cases were based on the consent of the officer in question, the public whistleblower and the Office of the Independent Director of Police Review (OIPRD).”
Peel Police recently signed a legally binding agreement with the Ontario Human Rights Commission aimed at eliminating systemic racism and discrimination in service.
In its statement, the service said that it is treating the case as an opportunity for improvement, and has been working with the commission to “ensure that there is adequate follow-up and accountability to ensure that all actions of our members comply with the Charter as as well as your obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code. “
Rippell, the attorney representing the defendants in the latest case, is now asking Peel police for answers on the disciplinary action taken against Corona.
“It’s particularly troublesome when it appears to be a systemic issue with the same officer,” Rippell told the Star. “I hope there is some accountability regarding (Harris’s) decision.”
Toronto attorney Alex Mamo, who represented the defendant in two of the previous cases, said Corona’s repeated actions expose a broader systemic problem.
“Racism against blacks is so deeply ingrained in our society, so when we see these cases of racial discrimination by police officers, I think it’s just a reflection of that,” Mamo said.
Mamo added that while the public might be outraged by the fact that firearms evidence is being thrown out of court, the community must also consider “how many times these officers violate the Charter rights of the people, racially profiling an individual and illegally searched without finding anything, and nothing comes out of it. “
Reference-www.thestar.com