[URBAN NOTE] On the arrest of our Toronto police officers charged with obstructing justice,

[rfmcdonald]

This, reported by the Toronto Star's Wendy Gillis is horrific. And now CBC is reporting that a fifth policeman is implicated? The Toronto Sun goes into more detail about the careers of the police involved. Suffice it to say that if this did happen, these people deserve prosecution.

Last fall, the conduct of a group of Toronto police officers was described by an Ontario judge as “egregiously wrongful.”

On Thursday, their alleged behaviour was put in criminal terms: perjury and obstruction of justice.

Four officers — two of them experienced major-crimes investigators — are facing a total of 17 charges stemming from a 2014 drug bust, after which a judge ruled police had “fabricated” a story that involved “planting” heroin in a car to justify a search.

Soberly announcing the charges against his officers Thursday, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said there would be a review of the four officers’ prior cases conducted by the force’s professional standards unit and the Crown Attorney’s office, “to see if there is any other cause of concern.”

It is not known how many other cases will need to be reviewed. Together, the four officers have more than 50 years on the force.