

Codi Wilson, CP24.com





Toronto police say officers did conduct a 'pat-down search' of a suspect who later pulled a handgun out of his pants while handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser on Sunday.

A shocking video of the incident, which was obtained by CTV News Toronto, shows a handcuffed male seated in the back of a cruiser, shifting in his seat.

At one point, the man reaches into the waistband of his pants, pulls out what appears to be a semi-automatic handgun, and tucks it in between his legs.

In a news release issued Tuesday, police confirmed that the incident occurred in The Esplanade area on Sunday.

Toronto police said the man in the video was located by officers in the driver’s seat of a vehicle and was subsequently taken into custody for alcohol-related offences.

According to investigators, the officers were only alerted to the existence of a gun when they heard something hit the floor in the back of the police car.

The officers stopped the vehicle, opened the rear door of the cruiser, and discovered a semi-automatic pistol on the floor in front of the suspect.

The weapon was “secured” and an additional search was conducted before the suspect was brought into 51 Division for a breath test and processing, police said.

The suspect, now identified by police as Ali Showbeg, a 38-year-old Mississauga resident, is facing a number of charges, including multiple firearm offences.

Police Chief Mark Saunders also said that search was conducted at the time the suspect was taken into custody but the gun “was not detected.”

Police said a “safety notice” was later issued to officers following the incident to “inform of the method of firearm concealment utilized in this situation.”

They did not elaborate on how the suspect managed to hide the weapon from the officers during the search and did not say if the weapon was loaded.

Speaking to CP24 on Tuesday, Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack said it is customary during an impaired driving investigation to conduct what they call a “level 2” search, which he described as a “cursory pat-down.”

He acknowledged it was possible the officers could have missed the gun during the pat-down.

“Whether they had that in their groin area or whatever, an area we may not be patting down,” he said. “I don’t want to get into the specifics of how we conduct investigations but it would not necessarily be uncommon that this would be missed because of the size and the location.”

He said that while police are looking into the circumstances of the arrest and how the video made its way to the public, the incident should reinforce vigilance among police officers in patrol in the city.

“This is a wake-up call for our members," he said.

Police probing leak of video

Saunders confirmed that a "full investigation" into the leak of the video has been ordered and the Professional Standards Unit has already begun its probe.

Saunders called the leak a "clear breach of protocol and procedure."

The police chief noted that the issue of how the gun was missed is under investigation and police will “assess if this is a training or disciplinary matter.”

“The safety of our officers and the public is of paramount importance to the Toronto Police Service,” Saunders said in written a statement issued Tuesday.

CP24 Crime Specialist and former homicide detective Steve Ryan said searches must be done "meticulously" and added that the handgun "never should have been missed."

“(The area) around your waistband is a common area to search when somebody is handcuffed,” he said.

“You cannot miss a firearm. There is no second chances when it comes to searching somebody for a gun.”

Commenting on the video at city hall on Tuesday, Mayor John Tory called the incident “disconcerting.”

“You don’t want to think that someone in the back of a police car or anyone else for that matter has a gun after they’ve been searched. So I guess there will have to be an investigation. Indications are there will. And it will be up to the police to sort out how a search could happen but a gun could somehow remain in the custody of a suspect in a police car,” Tory said.

“I look forward to seeing what comes out of that (investigation) and what recommendations come out of that… It certainly would have placed the officers at risk, let alone the public if this person had that gun.”