High-ranking Toronto cop found guilty of misconduct
A senior Toronto police officer has been found guilty of two police act charges after allowing her nephew to leave the scene of a crash in 2022, circumventing police procedure for the benefit of her family.
Insp. Joyce Schertzer sat emotionless and stared straight ahead as retired OPP Supt. Lisa Taylor read her decision at a police tribunal hearing Wednesday morning.
Schertzer was found guilty of one count of discreditable conduct and another count of neglect of duty. She was found not guilty of a third count of neglect of duty.
The charges stem from an incident that happened shortly before noon on May 1, 2022, just outside The Boulevard Club at 1491 Lake Shore Boulevard W., in the city's west end.
Schertzer was working at 11 Division that day when she got a call from her daughter — who is a constable with Toronto police — telling her Schertzer's nephew had been in a collision, the tribunal previously heard.
Videos played during the hearing show Schertzer's nephew, who was referred to as "Calvin," driving a white pickup truck and trying to turn left on Lake Shore Boulevard from the country club's parking lot. Cones were also set up in the area as part of a road race happening that day, and a private security employee was at the edge of the club's driveway, directing traffic.
In the video, the truck can be seen making a left onto the busy roadway, before narrowly missing a car that was heading east. The truck then proceeds into the grassy median to the north, before slamming into a pole.
Schertzer travelled to scene
The tribunal previously heard Calvin was cleared to leave the scene around 10 minutes after talking to Const. Braden Doherty, an officer from 11 Division, which is Schertzer's unit.
Doherty was sent to the scene following a call from Schertzer, even though the crash took place outside her division's jurisdiction. Schertzer previously testified she was unaware the club was outside that boundary, and that she did not specifically request an officer from her division. She also attended the scene.
Body camera footage captured some of Doherty's investigation, including when he deemed no "criminality" took place and allowed Calvin to leave. Doherty previously testified that he asked for Schertzer's permission to turn off his body-worn camera.
Taylor said Wednesday she "cannot fathom" why Schertzer would have allowed the camera to be turned off.
A couple of hours later, Const. Michael Clarke, a traffic services investigator, attended the scene. Calvin returned to the site of the crash after Schertzer was contacted by traffic services.
Clarke previously testified he could smell alcohol on Calvin's breath. The tribunal heard Calvin had been drinking the night before the crash at the Boulevard Club, where he had left his car overnight.
Taylor said that having reviewed the evidence and video related to the investigation, she was satisfied that Calvin was not impaired by alcohol or drugs — but also said she had questions about whether or not his blood alcohol level was zero, as is a condition of his G2 licence.
More to come.
