PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "But Joanne Mulcahy, Schertzer’s lawyer, said the incident was a one-off mistake for her client — one that took place within the span of about 34 minutes — and was an aberration in an otherwise sterling 35-year career. She argued instead for a penalty in the range of a formal reprimand to the forfeiture of five days’ pay, about $3,200. “This conduct does not define the supervisor she is,” Mulcahy said, calling the prosecutor’s suggested demotion “harsh and extreme.”
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Schertzer is among a group of senior officers who have become embroiled in high-profile discipline cases. Weeks after Schertzer was found guilty, Toronto police Supt. Stacy Clarke — who admitted to helping six officers cheat during a promotional process — received a penalty of a two-year demotion to inspector, which she is now appealing. Last year, Supt. Riyaz Hussein was demoted for one year to inspector after he was convicted of impaired driving following a collision in a police-issued vehicle."
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STORY: "A profound error in judgment’: Toronto inspector who interfered with probe into nephew’s crash should be demoted, prosecutor argues," by Crime Reporter Wendy Gillis, published by The Toronto Star, on October 28, 2024. (Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star.)
SUB-HEADING: "Lawyer for Toronto police Insp. Joyce Schertzer said her client should be reprimanded or give up five days’ pay."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Insp. Joyce Schertzer is seen in police body camera footage at the scene of her nephew’s collision. On Monday, a police prosecutor said she should be knocked down to a lower rank."
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GIST: A high-ranking Toronto cop who meddled in the police investigation involving her nephew should face a penalty with a “real sting,” a police prosecutor argued Monday, saying the sentence must signal to other cops that mixing business with family affairs cannot be tolerated.
Police prosecutor Scott Hutchison said Insp. Joyce Schertzer should be knocked down to the lower rank of staff sergeant for a year after she was found guilty of being in a “clear conflict of interest” for rushing to the aid of a family member who’d caused a collision, interfering with the police probe.
Schertzer’s hearing is a case study showing why there are clear prohibitions against conflicts of interest, Hutchison said, and an example must be made of senior cops who are supposed to be “a moral and legal example” to junior officers.
“It is hugely tempting to want to rush to the aid of a family member who has been drawn into a police investigation,” Hutchison said, noting a slap on the wrist in this case would send the wrong message.
But Joanne Mulcahy, Schertzer’s lawyer, said the incident was a one-off mistake for her client — one that took place within the span of about 34 minutes — and was an aberration in an otherwise sterling 35-year career. She argued instead for a penalty in the range of a formal reprimand to the forfeiture of five days’ pay, about $3,200.
“This conduct does not define the supervisor she is,” Mulcahy said, calling the prosecutor’s suggested demotion “harsh and extreme.”
Schertzer was found guilty in August of two counts of professional misconduct for inserting herself into a May 2022 collision investigation involving her nephew. In what the tribunal adjudicator called an obvious conflict of interest, Schertzer — then the most senior officer of a west-end police division — personally dispatched a subordinate to the scene then drove there herself, setting off a chain of events that “influenced the course of (the) investigation.”
That included staying on scene while one of her own reports conducted a “perfunctory” investigation into why Schertzer’s nephew, Calvin, crashed his truck into a light pole on Lake Shore Boulevard West — a “lacklustre” probe by an officer “placed in an untenable position” because his boss was lingering nearby. Calvin was let go with no charges minutes later, robbing Toronto police’s Traffic Services, the unit that investigates collisions, of the opportunity to administer a breathalyzer test.
“I find a fully informed citizen would be shocked when considering the actions and inactions of Inspector Schertzer,” retired OPP Supt. Lisa Taylor, who presided over the hearing, wrote in her decision released this summer.
Stressing her client’s decades’ long service with the force, Mulcahy spent much of the morning reading letters of support written by police officers of all ranks, including former Toronto chiefs James Ramer and Mark Saunders, attesting to Schertzer’s character and work ethic. Mulcahy, a go-to lawyer for cops at the tribunal, said she could not recall ever having so many letters from so many ranks.
“When you go through these, you will see they speak to a truly impressive officer who made a mistake on May 1, 2022, but who has done so much” for the Toronto police, Mulcahy said.
That included accolades for how Schertzer, who became a recognizable face as a homicide investigator, handled what one retired senior officer called the “significant and highly sensitive investigation into a prominent City of Toronto civic member” — that is, the force’s probe into late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford amid admissions he’d smoked crack cocaine.
“It was here that I saw her display the highest standards of ethics and professionalism,” former Toronto police deputy chief Mike Federico wrote of Schertzer, who had overseen the probe.
But Hutchison warned Taylor she must take Schertzer’s career success “with a grain of salt,” noting that by virtue of being a senior officer she would necessarily have an impressive resume.
Her senior position was why she needed to face a severe penalty, as these officers are expected to be exemplary, he said.
The prosecutor also pushed back on Mulcahy’s characterization of her client’s behaviour as a fleeting error, noting that Schertzer has since failed to acknowledge she was in a conflict of interest or indicate that she would do things differently next time.
“It was more than just a bad day,” Hutchison said. “It was a profound error in judgment.”
Getting the last word Monday, Schertzer did signal remorse and gave brief closing remarks at the tribunal, her voice quivering with emotion.
“I do regret this, and I do have remorse. And there isn’t one day that hasn’t gone by in the last two and a half years where I didn’t wish I had a rewind button,” she said.
Schertzer is among a group of senior officers who have become embroiled in high-profile discipline cases.
Weeks after Schertzer was found guilty, Toronto police Supt. Stacy Clarke — who admitted to helping six officers cheat during a promotional process — received a penalty of a two-year demotion to inspector, which she is now appealing.
Last year, Supt. Riyaz Hussein was demoted for one year to inspector after he was convicted of impaired driving following a collision in a police-issued vehicle.
No date was set for the release of Taylor’s decision on the penalty. The hearing officer said she would decide “as soon as I can.""
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
- SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
