More than two years after a Toronto police officer declared himself guilty of driving with disabilities, disciplinary positions against his superior are asking questions about the night of the collision and integrity of one of the force investigation drug teams.
Then-Det.-Const. Jason Boag was arrested after a collision north of Toronto early on the morning of January 31, 2023.
He declared himself guilty of driving with disabilities that April. Then, in November 2023, he declared himself guilty of a position of professional misconduct before the Disciplinary Court of the Toronto Police Service, where a hearing officer described the case as an incident “out of service.”
But that is not the case, according to disciplinary positions against the superior of Boag, Det. Mark Beson.
CBC News tried to contact Beson by phone and email. A representative of the Toronto Police Association said Beson was aware of this story before publication, but the officer did not comment.
Beson, who is not currently suspended and then appears before the Court on August 26, faces seven disciplinary positions for allegedly spending on January 30, 2023 in a Wild Wings buffalo, where he and the five detective agents under his supervision drank alcohol in the service.
However, more worrying, they say criminal defense lawyers, they are the accusations that Beson then falsified the records to hide the misconduct of his team.
A finding that Beson altered the paperwork “would be a substantial fodder for any criminal defense lawyer” who meets the detective, said defense lawyer Craig Zeeh.
“You have an officer who is willing to lie, why not be willing to lie under oath? Why not be willing to lie in court?” Zeeh said.
“If you have an officer willing to falsify records to support your narrative, that can undermine many investigations, depending on your role in them.”
Adam Weisberg, vice president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, agreed.
“If there is a lot of meat in this accusation … I would not be surprised if many positions remain where the evidence of this officer is key,” Weisberg said.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Canada refused to say how many charges, if any, have been delayed due to the accusations against Beson.
Toronto Police “is not aware of any” case that ends as a result of Beson’s positions, spokesman Nadine Ramadan said by email.
The officers spent 8 hours at Wild Wings, suggest the documents
On January 30, 2023, Beson, supervisor of a “clandestine laboratory team”, arrived at Wild Wings inside a sand at 11:59 am, according to the records of the Toronto Police Court. His team was scheduled to work from 10 am to 6 pm, according to court documents.
Beson and the five detective agents under their supervision supposedly drank alcohol.
“Surprise, surprise,” said James Lowry, a former Toronto Police officer who investigated the accusations of corruption of the drug squad.
Lowry, now Winnipeg defense lawyer, said that specialized and civil units officers have more autonomy than their uniformed colleagues.
“You should be professional, and you have a good service, so you should not need to be child caregivers,” he said.
However, that freedom may imply opportunities of misconduct.
“You would never do it uniform,” Lowry said about the alleged service drink. “It’s not that it didn’t happen, but I would be surprised.”
Beson and Boag left the restaurant shortly after 8 pm and drove a police vehicle to the drug squad building, according to court documents. Around 10:25 pm, a highly intoxicated “Boag left the drug squad building and moved away.
A Newmarket court heard that OPP officers sent to a collision in the municipality of King, north of Toronto, shortly after midnight on January 31 found Boag in a sedan against the central barrier of the 400 highway.
According to court records, Boag had hit a dump truck.
Boag, who identified himself as a police officer, had urinated himself on himself, according to a judicial transcription. When an officer requested the Boag license, he presented his debit card.
Knowing that the TPS professional standards unit investigated after Boag’s collision, Beson allegedly changed the turn of his teammates on a login sheet to indicate that the group began and finished the work before what they had really done, so it seems that the group had not been drinking in service.
Beson started the blade for his entire team, according to court documents.
Only 1 disciplinary case mentions drinking ‘service’
It is not clear why the disciplinary charges of Boag’s driving were treated as an “out of service” incident given the accusation that Boag, Beson and four others were drinking service.
The decision of sentence, written by supt. Shane Branton does not mention when, where or with whom Boag pointed out. Branton did not respond to comments requests.
“In any case presented to the court, the prosecutor evaluates the available evidence and exposes the charges that determine that they are more appropriate,” Ramadan said in an email.
A summary of the prosecution presentations in the same ruling does not mention the time Boag has spent drinking in service, as described in the documents describing Beson’s pending positions.
Consisted by phone and asked why Boag did not face discipline for behavior in service, Insp. Lisabet Benoit, who prosecuted the case, said he would review his notes.
“I will strive to get some clarity for you,” said Benoit. Hours later, he sent a text message to a CBC news journalist who declined more comments.
Boag’s lawyer, Sandip Khehra, refused to specifically comment on the decision of the court to discuss the misconduct of the officer as out of service.
“When you are working on resolutions with prosecutors, there is a bit of donation and takes,” he said.
“Sometimes massage the facts.”
‘Too soon to count’ possible sanctions
It is not clear if any of the other four officers in Beson’s team has faced discipline in relation to the case.
“Only disciplinary issues that appear before the court are made public,” said Ramadan, spokesman for the Toronto Police.
The officers declared guilty by the Disciplinary Court can be dismissed, but an officer of hearings will weigh several factors when deciding on a penalty, according to Ian Johnstone, a lawyer who has prosecuted cases for police services, including those of Toronto.
“It’s too early to count only on position,” said Johnstone.
Beson’s issue has been repeatedly rescheduled, according to a review of the public court schedules.
