Benson Lau, M.D.

Two police officers appealed their convictions and penalties for neglect of duty under the Code of Conduct.

The officers had responded to a call about suspicious persons and recovered a baseball bat and pool cue, but did not immediately report these findings to dispatch, unaware that another unit was investigating a nearby assault involving a baseball bat.

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission allowed the appeal and quashed the penalties, finding that the officers exercised reasonable discretion based on the limited information available to them at the time, and could not be judged with the benefit of hindsight.