'Casual Encounters' of the Worst Kind

AuthorJulianna A Greenspan & Brad Greenshields
Pages49-65

CasualEncounters
oftheWorstKind
Julianna A Greenspan & Brad Greenshields*
FifteenyearsagoayoungBlackmanwaswalkingalongaTorontostreet
duringthelunchhourinacommunitynearschoolswithahistoryofdrug
activityThreepoliceocerstwoofwhomwereinplainclotheswere
patrollingtheareaengagedinwhatthestatethencalledcommunity
policingadynamicinteractionbetweenpoliceandcitizenspurport
edlyintendedtomaintainavisiblepolicepresenceandtodetercrime
The ocers asked the young man Donnohue Grant to have a
chatTheyashedtheirbadgestakinguppositionsthatblockedthe
manspath on the sidewalk The un iformed ocer askedwhat was
going on and asked for identication Mr Grant provideda hea lth
cardAccordingtotheocersheappearednervousadjustedhisjacket
promptingadirectiontokeephishandsinfrontofhimTheocers
testiedthattheypulledtheirvehiclesuponMrGrantbecausetheyhad
afunnyfeelingbasedontheyoungmanswayoflookingoveratthem
whiledgetingwithhiscoatandpants
The ocers asked Donnohue whether he had everb een arrested
andwhetherhehadanythingheshouldnthaveHehandedovera
smallbagofcannabisandaftermorequestionsarearmIna
majorityoftheSupremeCourtfoundthatDonnohueGrantssections
andCharterrightshadbeenbreachedandthathehadbeendetained
withoutcausebuttheCourtallowedtheadmissionoftherearmunder
 BothofGreenspanPartnersLLP
JAGBG
sectionoftheCharter.TheCourtsetoutaframeworkforthedef
initionofdetentionundersectionsandoftheCharterandestab
lished a threepart te stfor exclusion of evidence under section 
Importantlythe Court emphasiz ed that there was no suggestion that
MrGrantwasthetargetofracialprolingorotherdiscriminatorypolice
practices
Regreablyalltoooftencommunitypolicinghasinrealitybeen
aeuphemismforprolinginsocalledhighriskareasbasedonthe
stereotypethatindividualsofacertainraceorbackgroundhaveagreater
propensityforcrimeThiswasallegedinR v FerdinandwhereJustice
Harry S LaForme then of the Superior Court of Justice considered a
Charter motionbasedonanallegedimproperuseoftheTorontoPolice
Servicepracticeofcardingincludingtheinvestigativetoolknown
thenasacardJusticeLaFormedescribedthecardasfollows
Acardisapproximatelybyandisprintedonbothsidescom
mencingwiththewordsPersonInvestigatedItrecordsinformation
obtainedfromapersonwhoisstoppedbythepolicethatincludesin
formationsuchasnamealiasesdateofbirthcolouraddressand
contact location including t he timeOn t he back it has entries for
things such as associates a ndassociated w ith gang motorcycle
clubDr ugTreatment Cour tThe police t hen input the infor mation
fromthecompletedcardsintoapolicecomputerdatabasefortheir
futurereference
TheocersinFerdinandtestiedthattheyusedthecardsinaneu
tralcasualandconsensualmannertheymerelyapproachedsomeone
and asked if they minded givi ngt hem the relevant information The
ocersassertedthatifthepersonsaidnoandtherewerenogrounds
todetainthemtheywouldsimplymoveonandbidthepersontohave
anicedayThescenarioinFerdinand wasasfollowsTwoocersap
proachedagroupofyouthsincludingMrFerdinandhangingoutbe
hindanapartmentbuildingTheocersquestionedthegroupandused
cardstorecordpersonalinformationabouttheonesinterviewed
MrFerdinandtestiedthatthetwoocersroutinelystoppedhimques
tionedhimforcardinformationandsearchedhimwithouthiscon
sentWhentheyarrivedtheocerssawMrFerdinandstarttoleave
theareaOneofthemnoticedamarijuanajointWhentheocertold
 R v GrantSCCGrant
 R v FerdinandCanLIIOntSCJFerdinand
 Ibid atpara

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