A veteran Toronto police officer who called himself The Terminator “egregiously violated” the Charter rights of a 22-year-old man by subjecting him to “an unlawful and humiliating strip search in a public place,” an Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled.

Const. Irwin Correa, an officer with the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS), was singled out in the decision as “intimidating, overbearing and oppressive” during the questioning and arrest of Ohene Darteh in September 2010.

The judge also dismissed a possession of cocaine charge against Darteh.

Judge Brian O’Marra ruled that police stopped and detained him using the Highway Traffic Act as an “illegitimate ruse.”

Darteh alleged police planted a bag of cocaine after he was roughed up and put in a squad car; he was taken to hospital with back injuries. Correa declined to comment Thursday, other than to say: “My record speaks for itself.”

Const. Wendy Drummond said the Toronto Police Service couldn’t comment on whether anyone involved would face disciplinary action as they only just became aware of O’Marra’s judgment, issued Wednesday.

She said the Toronto police Professional Standards Investigative Unit, which ensures proper police conduct and compliance with the Police Service Act, has been notified.

“We have to take a serious look at this decision, and we will take whatever steps are necessary,” said Drummond.

Darteh, an immigrant from Ghana who speaks “some English” according to the ruling, was riding his bike near St. Clair Ave. W. and Runnymede Rd. shortly after noon on Sept. 1, 2010. He was stopped by Correa and two other TAVIS officers, Const. Shaun Roy and Const. Jason Uher, O’Marra’s ruling states.

Correa testified Darteh rode his bike through a crosswalk, a violation of the Highway Traffic Act; people stopped for violating the act are obliged to identify themselves to police. According to Darteh’s version of events, accepted as true by O’Marra, he readily identified himself when approached by Correa.

When asked to hold up his shirt, Darteh testified that he complied out of fear. Uher and Roy then each held one of his arms as Correa pulled Darteh’s pants and underwear down to his ankles, exposing him “naked below the waist for about one minute,” according to the ruling. Darteh said the officers laughed at him.

Subsequently, when he asked for Correa’s name and badge number, he testified that the officer responded by saying: “I am called the Terminator.” He then put Darteh in a headlock, forced him to the ground, Darteh testified.

The ruling notes Darteh stated he “received further blows to his back and rib area.” O’Marra notes that under cross-examination, Correa said people called him The Terminator when he worked in Parkdale “many years ago.” O’Marra called it “a fact” that Correa used the name, consistent with his effort to intimidate Darteh.

Darteh’s lawyer Anna Martin called the case “shocking” and said she will push for a police investigation.

“The facts of this case were particularly disturbing,” she said. “This is beyond concerning in terms of citizens who want to know that their police will act with honesty and integrity.”

Testimony from officers on the scene — Uher, Correa, Roy and two others who arrived to arrest Darteh — describes two pat-down searches before Darteh was put in the back of the police car.

But as Darteh was being escorted to an ambulance called due to his injuries, Correa produced a bag of cocaine from the back of the police car. O’Marra ruled that it is “far from clear” that the drugs belonged to Darteh, who wore pants with no pockets and was searched three times — including the strip search.

Correa testified Darteh refused to identify himself and started the scuffle by pushing Correa in the chest and was “struggling violently,” according to O’Marra’s summary. O’Marra dismissed Correa’s testimony as “untruthful and unreliable,” finding it “highly improbable” that Darteh would “initiate physical contact with a larger uniformed officer while two other uniformed officers are present.”

Correa is 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, while Darteh is 5-foot-5 and weighs between 170 and 180, according to the ruling.

Aside from possession, Darteh was charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest, both of which were dropped before the trial.

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Now 25, Darteh has been stopped and had his information recorded by Toronto police — a controversial practice known as “carding” — on at least two occasions, including once by Correa in August 2009, when Darteh was identified as a member of the “Crips” gang, according to the ruling.

O’Marra found no evidence of “any gang affiliation.”