2012-03-04
Chris Young
The officer was off duty at the time of the alleged offence, police say
A Toronto police officer has been charged with committing mischief and an indecent act after allegedly peeping into an apartment window.
Police say Constable Johnathon Blair, 30, “committed an indecent act while looking into a nearby apartment window” on Feb. 4. The location was not specified, but authorities say it was near the accused’s home.
Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash would not clarify what Const. Blair was allegedly doing in front of the window, noting the matter is now before the courts.
Const. Blair, who has five years of service with the Toronto force and is currently attached to 54 Division, was arrested Thursday and is scheduled to appear in court next month.
The officer was off duty at the time of the alleged offence, police say.
A number of other Toronto police officers have been mired in controversy in recent days amid a swirl of charges, investigations and allegations:
Constable David Cavanagh, who was charged with manslaughter in the 2010 shooting death of Eric Osawe, had those charges upped to second-degree murder in Superior Court last week. Mr. Osawe died while police were executing a search warrant at his Etobicoke apartment. The province’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating an unnamed Toronto police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Michael Eligon last month. Witnesses have accused police of using excessive force against the victim, who was clad in a hospital gown and wielding scissors. Toronto police confirmed last month that the professional standards unit has launched a probe into the fundraising activities of Constables Stephen Birtles and Lisa Hayford, amid questions about money intended for a slain sergeant’s memorial trust fund. Constables Blair Begbie and Vincent Wong are slated to begin an internal police tribunal hearing next month on misconduct charges. The pair stand accused of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority in the detention of graphic designer Jason Wall during the Toronto G20 summit. The province’s police complaints watchdog has recommended misconduct charges against five G20 constables involved in the beating of protester Adam Nobody, but it is not yet clear whether chargers will be laid. One of the officers, Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani, has also been criminally charged in the case. Five former drug squad officers are on trial in a wide-ranging corruption case involving allegations they assaulted and robbed drug dealers. The trial, expected to continue for several more months, stems from five separate cases dating back to the late 1990s. Suspended Staff Inspector Steve Izzett is in the midst of a disciplinary hearing on sexual harassment charges. The case, which centres on the officer’s treatment of a female colleague, stems from a 2008 complaint, but the tribunal hearing has faced numerous delays over the years.