RCMP Watch

May 25 2006 - CBC News

Toronto police have decided to allow an officer to keep his job even though he let a suspected drunk driver go and later accepted $320 hockey tickets in connection with the incident.

An internal police disciplinary tribunal demoted Const. Paul Stone on Thursday from first class to third class constable for 15 months. The demotion will cost him thousands of dollars in lost pay.

According to the ruling, Stone was found guilty of misconduct under the Police Services Act after he released Mario Amaro, a prominent Yorkville restaurant owner who failed to provide a roadside breath sample in February 2004. Amaro had flashed a police union badge and his wife said they were friends of police union director Michael McCormack. An investigation found that Stone received hockey tickets days after the release.

Earlier, in connection with the same incident, Stone pled guilty to an internal charge of insubordination.

Stone’s lawyer, Alan Gold, said his client admits to covering up the incident but denies he accepted a bribe. He said Stone maintains he tried to refuse the hockey tickets twice and he expected no reward for letting Amaro go. Gold said Stone may appeal the internal conviction.

“It was described as, in effect, a bribery, that he did something in exchange for getting something else, but the actual finding was that the release had nothing to do with the bribe, but later on, the hockey tickets were accepted,” Gold said.

The ruling describes the incident in detail. Evidence against Stone includes a wiretap transcript and testimony from Stone, McCormack and Amaro, co-owner of Opus, an upscale eatery in downtown Toronto.

On Feb. 4, 2004, Stone pulled over Amaro for driving at what appeared to be excessive speed. He made some inquiries, suspected that Amaro had been drinking and asked him to provide a breath sample. When Amaro refused the test, Stone arrested and handcuffed him and placed him in the back of the cruiser. Amaro was driving with his wife at the time.

Amaro flashed a gold Toronto Police Association honorary badge inscribed with his name and his wife mentioned McCormack. Stone released him without writing notes in his police memo book.

According to the wiretap transcript, obtained in a separate investigation, Const. William McCormack, brother of Michael McCormack, called Stone on his cellphone after the incident. Neither officer was aware the call was being monitored.

They talked about the incident, and Stone revealed he had told Michael McCormack that he had arrested his friend and that the union director had offered hockey tickets. Stone indicated that he would, with some hesitation, accept the tickets.

Internal police prosecutors argued that Stone had greatly damaged the reputation of the Toronto force and he should be fired, but the tribunal ruled that the demotion is sufficient discipline.