Toronto police officers were 'misleading' to justify use of force during raid of rapper's condo: judge

Gun charges fell apart last month when a judge found Toronto police officers used excessive force during a raid, questioned a man "in a vulnerable position" and were "misleading" to try to cover it up.

As a result, the judge ruled evidence of illegal firearms and ammunition couldn't be used in court, and 27-year-old Toronto rapper Omary Bent was acquitted of the charges.

But it's unclear what the punishment will be, if any, for the five officers involved. For now, they're still doing their jobs — jobs that, for some, involve teaching other officers how to do theirs.

And as CBC Toronto has learned, some of these officers have been accused of lying in court before.

Bent's lawyer called the situation "troubling."

"If we can't count on the people who are enforcing the laws to uphold them, what does that do to anybody's respect in the law or belief that our system is a fair one?" Hilary Dudding said in an interview.

A Toronto Police Service spokesperson declined to comment on the case but said a judge's "negative judicial findings" do not always mean an officer did something wrong.

Ontario Superior Court documents obtained by CBC Toronto detail the 2021 raid.

According to the documents, a confidential informant told Toronto police Bent was dealing drugs and had a gun. After two days of surveillance, police got a warrant to raid his Etobicoke condominium.

On July 27, 2021, officers rammed their way into the unit.

There's no "reliable account" of what happened next, Ontario Superior Court Justice Sandra Nishikawa ruled on June 20.

Bent admitted to throwing a guitar case, which court documents say contained a long gun and ammunition, off the balcony of his 37th-floor unit. But it's what happened after that's at the core of the dispute.

Bent testified he had just left the bedroom — and had his hands up — when he was Tasered. However, Const. Victor Romita testified Bent ran in and out of his bedroom "several times" and was reaching for a Gucci satchel — in which police later found a loaded pistol with a laser attachment — when Romita Tasered him.

Meanwhile, according to the court documents, Const. Chris Moorcroft said Bent had left his bedroom and had his hand in his pocket when he was Tasered.