Crown calls evidence tracking at Hamilton police station 'pathetic'
Det. Const. Craig Ruthowsky testified for a 7th day at the corruption trial into his conduct Wednesday
The Crown prosecutor at the trial of a Hamilton police officer accused of taking bribes from a crew of drug dealers unleashed a scathing review of Hamilton police in court Wednesday — calling evidence tracking at one undercover police station "pathetic."
Det. Const. Craig Ruthowsky returned to the witness box for a seventh day in a Toronto courtroom, as the trial into his misconduct allegations continues. After four days of evidence in chief, Ruthowsky has been sparring with the Crown for three days over the intricacies of his testimony.
Court has heard several times over the five weeks the trial has been ongoing about the police guns and gangs unit's "undercover" unmarked detachment on Hamilton Mountain. Both Ruthowsky and other officers have testified that seized property evidence wasn't catalogued there as it normally would be.
That would probably be the first time you ever followed police procedure.- John Pollard, assistant Crown attorney
Ruthowsky testified that guns, hundreds of thousands of dollars, thousands of grams of cocaine, and other seized evidence sat in a couple of jail cells in the abandoned building, instead of in locked storage lockers, where they could be properly catalogued. Assistant Crown attorney John Pollard didn't hide his opinions about that situation Wednesday.
"The situation with property at the [guns and gangs unit's headquarters] was pathetic, correct?" Pollard asked.
"It wasn't very good," Ruthowsky agreed.
Ruthowsky, 44, is accused of selling police secrets and protection for $20,000 monthly payments from a cadre of drug dealers.
The 17-year-veteran of Hamilton police has pleaded not guilty in Superior Court in Toronto to charges of bribery, attempting to obstruct justice, trafficking cocaine, criminal breach of trust, and conspiring to traffic marijuana.
No tracking of evidence within cell area
Ruthowsky said that officers working out of the location had made requests to Hamilton police higher ups for lock boxes, and other systems that would normally exist for evidence tracking in a police station.
"There was no tracking of any kind within that cell area, correct?" Pollard asked.
Ruthowsky answered no, there was no central tracking system, but later said there were notes kept in police reports and officer notebooks.
"Any officer, if they were corrupt, could have taken [drugs] and done something," Ruthowsky said — but he testified that no one ever did that, and there were no property issues there.
The real issue, he said, was with what's called "continuity evidence." That refers to the way evidence is handled over the course of an investigation, which is crucial to it being used in court, and proving it wasn't tampered with.
"That was our concern — if we got challenged on the continuity aspect in court, there might be an issue." Ruthowsky said.
Other Hamilton police stations, Ruthowsky testified, had a drug clerk that would come and pick up seized narcotics from police stations. That didn't happen at the guns and gangs unit's location, he said. Instead, officers would just put narcotics in the cells, and bring them to another station when they had a chance.
"We wanted a better facility. We wanted a better means to deposit these kinds of items so they could be secure like at other stations," he said.
Cocaine press comes back to the forefront
The shuttered police station became a focal point at the trial last week, when the jury heard from Nigel Dheilly-Mattiuzzi, who said he bought a massive cocaine press from Ruthowsky there.
Ruthowsky testified he was simply trying to give the press back to its original owner — which he says he was directed to do by his supervisors.
Ruthowsky said that practice was fairly common. He used an example of Hamilton police sometimes selling pot-growing equipment back to drug dealers. While narcotics themselves are disposed of, he said, equipment that also has a legal use is able go back to its original owner.
Ruthowsky said it's not uncommon for Hamilton police officers to bust a grow op and see the same identifying numbers written by police on equipment from previous seizures, because they were bought back by drug dealers at auction.
According to a court order Pollard read out loud to the jury, the cocaine press was supposed to be "forfeited to the queen and disposed of."
Ruthowsky said he hadn't seen that order until he came to court.
"There is no intent to do anything criminal here. I was just following procedure," Ruthowsky said.
"That would probably be the first time you ever followed police procedure," Pollard shot back.
Quickly, Ruthowsky's lawyer Greg Lafontaine was on his feet objecting, as an audible groan rang out in the courtroom from Ruthowsky's family.
"Save it for your closing," Justice Robert Clark then told the Crown.
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