Pubdate: Thu, 6 Dec 2007
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Joanne Laucius, The Ottawa Citizen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?216 (CN Police)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

POLICE OFFICER LOSES APPEAL, MUST RESIGN OVER COCAINE THEFT

An Ottawa police officer ordered to resign after stealing crack 
cocaine for his own use has lost an appeal to keep his job.

Const. Kevin Hall, now 44, was dismissed last December after a Police 
Services Act hearing officer said his conduct fell "far short" of the 
"most minimal standards" demanded by the public and his employer.

Const. Hall appealed the decision -- which placed him back under paid 
suspension -- arguing that the sentence was "unduly harsh and 
punitive." He said hearing officer Terence Kelly did not give proper 
consideration to the fact that drug addiction is considered a 
disability under the Ontario Human Rights Code. His appeal also 
argued that Mr. Kelly's decision did not give sufficient weight to 
his rehabilitation efforts.

Yesterday, the Ontario Civil Commission on Police Services, which 
heard the appeal on April 26, released its decision, concluding that 
the hearing officer's findings were "fair observations."

"The facts of this case are troubling," the three-person panel said 
in its 19-page decision. "Kevin Hall is a man with a history of 
substance abuse spanning more than a quarter of a century. He secured 
a position with the Service after he deliberately failed to disclose 
his addictions."

The decision conceded that Const. Hall's brief employment with the 
force -- he was a junior officer with less than five years employment 
when he first took crack cocaine from a motorist he pulled over in 
November 2004 -- had some positive elements.

But Const. Hall was regularly using marijuana for half of his police 
career, and the situation worsened after he took the crack, said the decision.

"Over the course of the following year, he purchased drugs on duty, 
stole from motorists, and pilfered court exhibits. This repeated 
misconduct went to the heart of his sworn duties as a police officer."

The panel also noted that Const. Hall had some success in dealing 
with his addictions, but he has had problems coping with stress and 
shouldn't be exposed to drugs or drug paraphernalia at work. "These 
are certainly both common elements of a police officer's world."

While the panel said the police force has a duty to accommodate 
Const. Hall's disability, "it is not a bottomless (duty) or a licence 
to breach statutory duties," and added that accommodating the 
situation would cause undue hardship on the police service.

Const. Hall, who has been suspended with pay since December 2005, has 
seven days to either resign or appeal to divisional court.

Last night, police association president Charles Momy said he hadn't 
seen the decision yet, but he planned to consult the association's 
lawyer, Steven Welchner, and Const. Hall.

"There's always an avenue for us," he said. "We have to sit down and 
review the decision."

In a statement, Deputy Chief Larry Hill said the police accept the 
decision and believe it to be the right one.

"This is a serious situation that has now been addressed. The 
decision allows the officer and the organization to move forward." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake