A plainclothes ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ police detective is facing allegations of professional misconduct after allegedly spending his shift drinking with subordinates, one of whom was later charged with impaired driving, before forging records to conceal their actions.
According to ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ police tribunal documents reviewed by the Star, Det. Mark Beson is facing a total of seven disciplinary charges in connection with the 2023 incident.
The collision happened just hours after Beson, then-supervisor of the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Drug Squad’s (TDS) Clandestine Lab Team, and five of his subordinates left Wild Wings Bar in Etobicoke on the evening of Jan. 30, 2023.
Det. Const. Jason Boag, described in the documents as “highly intoxicated†later collided with a dump truck in Vaughan just after midnight.
In April 2023, Boag was convicted of impaired driving. Six months later, he pleaded guilty to one count of professional misconduct before the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Police Service (TPS) disciplinary tribunal. While still employed with the service, he has since been demoted and is now serving as a police constable at 43 Division.
Unreported for years, the disciplinary charges levied against Boag’s supervisor, Beson, shed new light on the incident. At the time of Boag’s criminal and disciplinary proceedings, the officers were said to have gone to the bar while off-duty. Documents outlining the allegations against Beson, however, suggest the group was on-shift, and that Beson later falsified the police records to hide that fact.
When reached by the Star, a spokesperson for ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ police said they could not provide further comment while the matter remains before the tribunal, but confirmed that Beson remains employed with TPS and has not been suspended.Â
The Star was not able to reach Beson directly ahead of publication. The ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Police Association (TPA), which represents the service’s uniformed and civilian members, said it would convey a request for comment to the officer and his counsel. It directed additional questions from the Star to TPS.
Officers spent 8 hours in Etobicoke bar: tribunal
Just before noon on Jan. 30, the documents allege, Beson, Boag and four of their colleagues entered the Wild Wings Bar inside the Canlan Ice Sports Centre in Etobicoke, where they began drinking alcohol.
After more than eight hours inside the bar, Beson drove Boag in a police vehicle to the TDS building. Just before 10:30 p.m. that night, Boag “left the (...) building in a highly intoxicated state, got in his car, and drove away,†the documents state.
Just after midnight, Boag struck the back of a dump truck while driving near Highway 400 and Teston Road in Vaughan. Â
Boag was charged with impaired driving and failure to comply with a breath demand, the former of which he pleaded guilty to in April 2023. Following his plea, he was handed a 12-month driving prohibition and ordered to pay $2,600.
Supervisor allegedly tried ‘to conceal misconduct’
In the aftermath of the collision, Beson, knowing the incident would prompt a professional standards investigation, allegedly altered his team’s scheduled shift times from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. “to cover up the misconduct.â€
He then initialed the sheet on behalf of his five subordinates, according to the documents.
When reached for comment, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ police declined to comment on why the incident had been described in past disciplinary proceedings as taking place while off-duty.
Allegations of deceit amongst police officers — in this case, falsifying records and forgery — should be of particular concern, according to Jessica Zita, a criminal defence lawyer with no connection to Beson or Boag’s cases.
“This really should make people question what kind of standards our law enforcement are being held to,†Zita said on Tuesday.
“The allegations here are essentially criminal,†she continued. “If I were to falsify my tax returns, that’s uttering a forged document.†When asked by the Star if Beson’s conduct had ever been the subject of a criminal investigation, TPS declined to comment.
If Beson is found guilty of professional misconduct, his actions could also be used as a defence in future criminal cases, said Zita.
“It really depends on the case, but if he was a major cop on a case and his credibility is key to that trial, then the defence is likely going to want to explore calling him (to the stand) and testing his credibility with this new story.â€
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ police told the Star they are “not aware†of any such instances.
Beson is scheduled to appear before the tribunal on Aug. 26.
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