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Sued Toronto cops deny racial profiling behind takedown of young black lawyer
COLIN PERKELWed Mar 8, 4:54 PM ET
TORONTO (CP) - Racial profiling had nothing to do with the takedown of a young black lawyer in the emotionally charged days that followed the downtown shooting of a teenage girl on Boxing Day last year, police say in court documents.
In a statement of defence, police strenuously deny the claim by Jason Bogle, who is seeking almost $2 million in damages in a suit against police that alleges his civil rights were violated during the incident.
"The defendants deny that the plaintiff, Jason Bogle, was subjected by them to 'racial profiling,"' says the statement, filed late last month with Ontario Superior Court.
"The defendants deny that, at any time, they were in any way reckless or malicious in their conduct toward the plaintiff."
The incident occurred two days after the horrific Boxing Day shooting of 15-year-old Jane Creba, which put the city on edge, heightened racial tensions in the city and ultimately helped influence the outcome of the Jan. 23 federal election.
Creba was out with her family on Yonge Street in the bustling downtown shopping district when she was cut down in an exchange of gunfire between two groups of youths.
Bogle, 26, alleges that he and his girlfriend were chatting in his parked Lexus ES 300 on a west-end street on the evening of Dec. 28 when five unmarked vehicles suddenly pulled up and surrounded his car.
Several plainclothes officers, hands on holsters, surrounded the car, ordered Bogle to get out, and said he was being investigated for possessing drugs and guns, despite the fact he showed them his identification as a lawyer.
Nothing untoward was found and Bogle was released.
Toronto police Det. Greg McDonald, who is named as a defendant in the suit, suggested at the time it was a case of mistaken identity. Bogle alleged he was only subjected to the takedown because he was a well-dressed black man in an expensive car.
He said he filed the suit in part because he wanted the city to take "a strong look at the practices of police, specifically to young black males."
In their statement of defence, police argue that the officers involved had "reasonable and probable grounds" to detain Bogle, although the statement does not specify what those grounds were.
The statement denies Bogle was detained without "proper cause" or for longer than necessary. Nothing the officers did could spark an award of punitive damages, the defendants say.
The statement calls Bogle's claim, which also seeks $250,000 for his parents, "excessive."
Doug Smith, who filed the statement of defence on behalf of Toronto police and McDonald, was not available to comment Wednesday.
Bogle's lawyer, Selwyn Pieters, said the facts "speak for themselves" and would come out at trial.
Copyright © 2006 Canadian Press
COLIN PERKELWed Mar 8, 4:54 PM ET
TORONTO (CP) - Racial profiling had nothing to do with the takedown of a young black lawyer in the emotionally charged days that followed the downtown shooting of a teenage girl on Boxing Day last year, police say in court documents.
In a statement of defence, police strenuously deny the claim by Jason Bogle, who is seeking almost $2 million in damages in a suit against police that alleges his civil rights were violated during the incident.
"The defendants deny that the plaintiff, Jason Bogle, was subjected by them to 'racial profiling,"' says the statement, filed late last month with Ontario Superior Court.
"The defendants deny that, at any time, they were in any way reckless or malicious in their conduct toward the plaintiff."
The incident occurred two days after the horrific Boxing Day shooting of 15-year-old Jane Creba, which put the city on edge, heightened racial tensions in the city and ultimately helped influence the outcome of the Jan. 23 federal election.
Creba was out with her family on Yonge Street in the bustling downtown shopping district when she was cut down in an exchange of gunfire between two groups of youths.
Bogle, 26, alleges that he and his girlfriend were chatting in his parked Lexus ES 300 on a west-end street on the evening of Dec. 28 when five unmarked vehicles suddenly pulled up and surrounded his car.
Several plainclothes officers, hands on holsters, surrounded the car, ordered Bogle to get out, and said he was being investigated for possessing drugs and guns, despite the fact he showed them his identification as a lawyer.
Nothing untoward was found and Bogle was released.
Toronto police Det. Greg McDonald, who is named as a defendant in the suit, suggested at the time it was a case of mistaken identity. Bogle alleged he was only subjected to the takedown because he was a well-dressed black man in an expensive car.
He said he filed the suit in part because he wanted the city to take "a strong look at the practices of police, specifically to young black males."
In their statement of defence, police argue that the officers involved had "reasonable and probable grounds" to detain Bogle, although the statement does not specify what those grounds were.
The statement denies Bogle was detained without "proper cause" or for longer than necessary. Nothing the officers did could spark an award of punitive damages, the defendants say.
The statement calls Bogle's claim, which also seeks $250,000 for his parents, "excessive."
Doug Smith, who filed the statement of defence on behalf of Toronto police and McDonald, was not available to comment Wednesday.
Bogle's lawyer, Selwyn Pieters, said the facts "speak for themselves" and would come out at trial.
Copyright © 2006 Canadian Press
