Peel cop faces assault charge in 2003 case

Readers may remember the home invasion case where the accused was assaulted by the police. The charged against the accused were stayed -- now it appears one of the police has been charged.

KEVIN CONNOR, Toronto Sun


A Peel policeman has been charged with aggravated assault from an incident dating back to 2003 after the Court of Appeal ruled his actions "brought the integrity of law enforcement into disrepute."

In March 2003, Const. Will Vander Weir had Quang Hoang Tran in custody in relation to a number of violent home robberies when an altercation broke out and Tran's jaw was broken.

The Special Investigations Unit ruled at the time that there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the Peel Regional Police officer committed a criminal offence.

That changed last month after a Court of Appeal ruling allowing proceedings against Tran to be stayed.

As a result of some of the language used in the ruling the SIU has now charged Vander Weir with one charge of aggravated assault.

"This is one of those clearest of cases where the prosecution should be halted. This case involved horrendous police misconduct that breached Tran's charter rights (and) jeopardized the perception of trial fairness," the ruling stated