For cop in racing case, things move slowly

[itr_1211]

Clocked at 160 in April, not charged until August


Aug 20, 2009 04:30 AM

Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau Chief

A senior OPP officer has been charged with street racing after a police cruiser was clocked at 160 km/h in a 90 km/h zone, the Star has learned.
While acting Staff Sgt. Mike Pilon was pulled over on April 14, charges were not filed until Aug. 6 – and he still has not been served with a court summons, said Ontario Provincial Police Supt. Jeff Dupuis.
Dupuis said yesterday there appears to be a procedural snag in Cochrane, where the incident took place, which has led to the unusual delay.
"It's never happened before," the superintendent said from North Bay.
"I'm not sure what the battle here is. If our guy is at fault, then he's at fault and let the chips fall where they may."
Pilon's Chevrolet Impala was pulled over four months ago on Highway 11 outside Cochrane, a remote community near Timmins that is about 700 kilometres north of Toronto.
Perhaps coincidentally, the charges were filed two weeks after OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino issued a July 20 edict imploring officers to drive safely because "the OPP's image and reputation are adversely affected by the unacceptable actions of a few."
Fantino, who successfully pushed the provincial government to increase penalties for reckless driving, has clamped down on speeders. The commissioner's crusade is credited with cutting speed-related deaths on Ontario highways by 42 per cent last year.
"He is not going to be happy about this," confided one source, noting Fantino has not been shy about reprimanding his own.
Even the elite OPP officers who guard Premier Dalton McGuinty are careful to obey the speed limit when ferrying him to and from events, which is one reason why he often runs late.
Under the new anti-racing laws, if Pilon is convicted he faces a fine of up to $10,000 or six months in jail, plus a licence suspension.
Last week, an undercover Durham Region police officer was charged with racing and had his unmarked car impounded after being accused by the OPP of driving 150 km/h on Highway 115 in Peterborough County.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/683209

[82Seca750]

hopefully Kenzie will blog on this piece

here's his blog on the Durham undercover busted last week

classic Kenzie and hitting hard


Over, Under, Sideways - and down

Another embarrassment in a long line of embarrassments over Ontario Provincial Police Superintendent Julian "King Canute" Fantino's strange obsession with speed.

A Durham Regional Police Officer was nailed last week in Fantino's bizarre "street racing" trap, charged with going 50-over on Highway 115 in Peterborough County last week.

(They caught a Toronto Deputy Fire Chief a couple of months ago.)

The Durham officer's undercover role was almost outed, but the O.P.P. is withholding his name to try and retain what's left of that cover.

His unmarked cruiser, however, was impounded (where the heck is the logic in THAT? A $70,000-odd piece of publc property stuck in some tow truck compound for a week?!)

Good grief - here's a cop, doing real police work, and he's run in by some sycophantic O.P.P. weenie, presumably trying to curry favour with his superiors.

That's the only logical explanation, because any traffic cop knows and even a cursory examination of the data clearly reveals that speed limit enforcement of any sort has absolutely nothing to do with traffic safety.

The Durham cop's boss, Inspector Brice Townley, called the officer's suspension "extremely disappointing", given the force's focus on road safety.

Apparently, Insp. Townley, like Supt. Fantino, hasn't read the research either.

This specific "street racing/stunt driving/50-over" vendetta is particular useless, meaningless, and a waste of scarce resources, not to mention spectacularly unconstitutional and massively unfair, making the traffic cop roadside judge, jury, and executioner.

But I guess The Boss can always find minions prepared to do his bidding.

Too bad those minions aren't required to be more like that Durham cop - be expected to do real police work, such as charging and helping eliminate bad driving behaviours that really do matter.

We all know there is no shortage of those.

How old is Superintendent Fantino? Surely there is a retirement package that could entice him to just go fishing for fish, instead of citizens - permanently?

[Bantario]

No upfront penalties for number four on the OPP Street Racing sqaud!

Procedral snag my ***!

[mxs]

How old is Superintendent Fantino? Surely there is a retirement package that could entice him to just go fishing for fish, instead of citizens - permanently?

Don't hold your breath Kenzie. He loves his gig too much to accept any retirement package. Where do you get to chase citizens speeding, get prime time exposure on TV and be paid for it nicely too .... ?

[Rob MacLennan]

It's ridiculous to think that police vehicles should be seized and impounded, and the officers charged for storage. Just the thought of it bothers me. Removing a valuable resource from the streets and banning an officer from driveing before he's had so much as a hearing? Preposterous!

But here's the thing; the law makes no differentiation between how a regular citizen and an officer are to be handled, when this law is enforced. It MUST be enforced as required, if for no other reason than to show just how unjust and ill-conceived this law is. There must be no special status granted; no pretending that HTA172 permits things that it doesn't.

[Grimmy]

It's ridiculous to think that police vehicles should be seized and impounded, and the officers charged for storage. Just the thought of it bothers me. Removing a valuable resource from the streets and banning an officer from driveing before he's had so much as a hearing? Preposterous!

But here's the thing; the law makes no differentiation between how a regular citizen and an officer are to be handled, when this law is enforced. It MUST be enforced as required, if for no other reason than to show just how unjust and ill-conceived this law is. There must be no special status granted; no pretending that HTA172 permits things that it doesn't.

Agreed. It doesnt say police are exempt, so by seizing police vehicle it will hopefully open some eyes. Unfortunately, Fatony er Fantino will likely just have the wording changed to give his police crooks the opportunity to race around again punishment free.

[Avi Singh]

If I were the Durham officer, I would have made a whole childish mess out of the whole thing and turned around and charged the OPP officer with the same offence and impounded his car for a week. An officers word is all that's needed after all...

[Grimmy]

Thats to true.

It matters not what actually happened, only what is written in the note book.

[DaveP]

I can't wait for the day where an overzealous officer impounds a volunteer firefighter truck, town hall sets on fire but no body's there to put the fire out. Gotta love the fore-thought these morons put into there legislation.

[Brian P]

Actually, in the above hypothetical scenario, I'd like it to be the police officer's house that was on fire ... or maybe Fantino's house on fire. Naaahhh, couldn't happen ...

"Sir, we cannot respond to your fire alarm, because the legislation that you put into effect has forced us to seize the fire truck." Wouldn't THAT be priceless.

[CruisnGrrl]

Actually, in the above hypothetical scenario, I'd like it to be the police officer's house that was on fire ... or maybe Fantino's house on fire. Naaahhh, couldn't happen ...

"Sir, we cannot respond to your fire alarm, because the legislation that you put into effect has forced us to seize the fire truck." Wouldn't THAT be priceless.

or the officer is having a heart attack. around here fire is the first to arrive.