Two Toronto police officers pleaded not guilty to professional misconduct Tuesday at the first day of the high-profile — and much-delayed — hearing into the 2011 gunpoint arrest of four Black teenagers, a controversial incident known as the Neptune Four case.

Dressed in a dark blue suit, Const. Adam Lourenco rose from his seat inside the tribunal room at Toronto police headquarters, stating “not guilty” as each of his three Police Services Act charges was read out by hearing officer Insp. Richard Hegedus, the adjudicator at the tribunal.

Lourenco is accused of one count of unlawfully arresting the four boys and two counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly using unreasonable force — specifically, punching one of the boys and pointing his gun at three of them. Const. Scharnil Pais, in full police uniform, pleaded not guilty to one count of unlawfully arresting the teens.

None of the allegations against the officers have been proven at the tribunal.

At long last, the hearing will provide an opportunity to dissect a case with racial dimensions as relevant now as they were at the time of the incident, said Jeff Carolin, the lawyer representing the teens, who are now 20 and 21 years old.

“The perspective that I’m going to try to bring is that you can’t look at this case without talking about racism, you can’t look at this case without talking about racial profiling,” he said in an interview outside police headquarters Tuesday.

The hearing stems from a November 2011 incident where four boys, ages 15 and 16, were on their way to an after-school learning program in a Lawrence Heights public housing complex on Neptune Dr. They were stopped by Lourenco and Pais, both officers with the controversial and now-disbanded Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS) unit.

According to police records, the officers were at the Neptune Dr. buildings to enforce the Trespass to Property Act on behalf of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation.

When they were approached by police, one of the boys attempted to exercise his constitutional right to walk away, according to Carolin and a previous account of the incident provided to the Star.

The encounter escalated. According to allegations contained in the written Police Act charges against the officers, Lourenco threw punches and drew his gun.

The incident was captured by a Toronto Community Housing security camera and first reported by the Star.

The boys were charged with assaulting police, and the young man who did not want to answer police questions was charged with threatening death and assault with intent to resist arrest. All of the charges were later withdrawn.

Because the teens faced criminal charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Star is not identifying them.

The charges against Lourenco and Pais came after an investigation by Ontario’s Office of the Independent Police Review Director, spurred by the four teens lodging complaints with the watchdog. One of the four teens has since withdrawn his complaint and will not be participating in the hearing.

The three young men going forward with their complaints are eager for closure and an opportunity to share their stories, Carolin said.

The case has taken a circuitous route to the tribunal in large part due to two rare developments. Last spring, the Ontario Human Rights Commission attempted to gain official status at the hearing in order to ensure the tribunal adequately addressed the role racial profiling may have played in the officers’ alleged misconduct. After a separate hearing, a Toronto police hearing officer denied the rights group’s request, saying the tribunal did not have the legal jurisdiction to allow the OHRC to participate.

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Months later, Lourenco sought to have Hegedus removed as hearing officer on the case. Lourenco alleged that the senior officer had recently committed misconduct himself, and arguing there was a reasonable perception Hegedus may be biased.

The move prompted an unusual written decision by Hegedus, clearing himself of appearing biased and ruling that he could oversee the disciplinary hearing. Lourenco later sought a judicial review of Hegedus’ decision, but the application was quashed.

The hearing continues Thursday.

Wendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca