Missing video evidence collapses drug case, prompts Toronto detective discipline proceeding
A drug trafficking case has collapsed and a Toronto police detective is facing allegations of deceit and discreditable conduct after he wouldn’t provide surveillance video of a drug bust to prosecutors, CTV News has learned.
Detective Clayton Adams kept giving shifting explanations to Crown prosecutors about where the video was, whether it was connected to the drug case, and why it couldn’t be provided, and stands accused of misleading the Crown — one reason charges in the case were stayed, documents say.
“Your responses to the Crown were evasive and misleading in regards to the seized security video,” the Toronto police allege in a notice of hearing that was written in 2020, but is headed for a hearing next week.
“You provided a will-say statement that was inconsistent with your initial representations. In so doing, you committed misconduct in that you did willfully or negligently make a false, misleading or inaccurate statement pertaining to official duties,” the notice reads.
Adams’ lawyer, Peter Brauti, told CTV News Toronto that he plans to explain that the entire thing was a misunderstanding — and that Detective Adams had simply lost track of the video because officers at 14 Division do not have enough USB sticks to store the various ones they obtain and it was overwritten.
“This was a miscommunication and misunderstanding between the parties. It’s now going to be resolved internally,” he said, adding that eventually a copy of the video was found.
The hearing would be adjourned for now, he said, while Adams and the TPS come to a settlement, though officials witih Toronto police did not confirm that Tuesday.
Detective Adams was supervising the execution of a drug warrant at a tower complex on West Lodge Avenue in 2020. At the time, police found enough fentanyl to lay three charges against a 50-year-old man.
The suspect's lawyer, Jeff Hershberg, wanted to see surveillance video of the bust. He told CTV News Toronto he contacted building management, who told him they had supplied the police with the video. So he tried to get it from the Crown.
“I had suspicions about what had happened,” he said. “Soon after that, (the) Crown contacts me and advises they’re going to stay charges against my client.”
Behind the scenes, Crown lawyers had been trying to get that video from Adams. According to the notice of hearing, Adams first denied the video existed and “had no idea what security was talking about.”
He then said there was a video, but it was for a separate investigation, and then told the Crown the video had been erased.
It’s not clear what is on the video, or whether the hearing where it could be played for the public to see will happen next week.
Lawyer Peter Biro, who was among several involved in a separate serious corruption case against several officers with the Central Field Command drug squad years ago, said the Toronto police should not write this off easily.
“They should want to get to the bottom of it. That’s what they should want to do,” said Biro, who is now a advocate for democracy and civil liberties with Section1.ca. He said he had great reservations about whether the TPS could investigate itself in files like this.
“Something like this could be quite innocent and minor and have no consequence or it could be quite significant. We don’t know at this point,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Trial begins for Winnipeg serial killer who claims he was mentally ill
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
New Canadian study could be a lifesaver for thousands suffering from CTE
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.