TORONTO — The veteran Toronto police officer charged in connection with the killing of an alleged ex-warlord who was living in London, Ont., pleaded guilty to internal police charges years ago.
Const. Trevor Gregory was arrested by London police on Tuesday and charged with breach of trust in relation to the June 21 death of Bill Horrace.
Gregory is the father of Keiron Gregory, 22, who is wanted for second-degree murder in the shooting.
Police disciplinary hearing documents show Trevor Gregory pleaded guilty in 2016 to neglect of duty and insubordination following an incident in which a woman he arrested overdosed on pills.
Gregory and his partner arrested the woman and a man on June 16, 2015, because the two had been ordered not to associate with each other.
Gregory did not handcuff the woman due to a spinal injury that left her walking with a cane, the decision said.
While en route to the police station, the woman ingested some pills and hid others in a body cavity, according to the documents. Gregory found the woman with the bottle of pills in her hand, and she told him she had taken all of them.
Gregory did not tell other officers, including the booking officer and the investigating detective, that the woman had ingested the pills.
She was later found unconscious and unresponsive in her cell, but was taken to hospital where she was successfully treated.
“Const. Gregory’s conduct was serious, as a person in custody was given the opportunity to ingest medication to the point where she was found unconscious,” wrote Supt. Debra Preston, the hearing officer in the case.
“The service, the officer and the person in custody were placed at risk based on a poor decision.”
Gregory, who could not immediately be reached for comment, was docked three days pay for the incident.
London police continue to look for his son, Keiron Gregory, along with three other suspects, for the shooting death of Horrace.
Police declined to detail the breach of trust allegations against the elder Gregory.
Investigators allege four men broke into Horrace’s home in London around 4:40 a.m. on June 21, shooting and killing him in front of his family.
Police have said they do not believe Horrace’s killing was related to the alleged war crimes he committed in Liberia.
Horrace filed a refugee claim in Canada in 2002 and admitted he was part of Liberian President Charles Taylor’s army as a chaplain. Taylor is now serving a 50-year sentence for committing war crimes in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
Horrace had engaged in a nearly two decade-long battle with the Canadian government to become a permanent resident, according to Federal Court documents.
A 2010 article in Maclean’s magazine cited eyewitnesses who alleged Horrace beheaded and committed a litany of other atrocities against civilians.
Horrace has long denied committing the atrocities.
He re-launched his efforts at permanent residency in January, seeking leave and a judicial review of his case.
The federal government had not “presented any evidence to indicate the allegations have any factual basis,” his application states.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2020.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
