Toronto Police give lamest excuse ever: G20 charges lost in mail

Toronto Police give lamest excuse ever: G20 charges lost in mail

Fence fracas: the chain-link barrier that was erected for the G20 (Image: Gary J. Wood)

The grand saga of the G20 cluster bomb that hit the city last month is interesting enough, but we’ve found that the most telling aspects are in the details: fake lake, Officer Bubbles, and the fence rule that turned out not to exist. A few weeks ago, the one and only charge laid in connection with that fence rule seemed to have disappeared when Dave Vasey showed up for his day in court, prompting much WTFing from his lawyer. Well, the police looked into it, and we can all rest our heads because nothing nefarious was involved. According to the Star, the charges were lost in the mail.

Police have now concluded that paperwork for Vasey’s charge was “delayed in the mail” and failed to arrive at the provincial prosecutor’s office until July 29 — one day after Vasey’s scheduled court appearance.

Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray said it is unclear what might have caused the delay.

“What happened in the time it left us to the time it arrived in the prosecutor’s office is a detail we may never know,” she said.

Accidents do happen and all, but really? The media was pretty tightly focused on this charge, yet the cops appear to be using the same excuses we use on annoying family members whose weddings we don’t want to attend.

Vasey, it seems, is more or less off the hook. While police could still re-charge him (and maybe courier the paperwork this time?), Gray says the cops “don’t believe it’s in the public’s interest” to bring him back to the jailhouse.

Next up, soap bubbles taken off hazardous materials list.

• G20 charge disappears in mail mix-up [Toronto Star]