Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jul 2012
Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Record
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/942MrkRX
Website:  http://news.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225
Author: Brian Caldwell

LOCAL POLICE OFFICER GUILTY OF STEALING MARIJUANA AT WORK

KITCHENER - A local police officer who was set up in an undercover
sting pleaded guilty Monday to stealing marijuana for his own use.

Andrew Robson, 29, admitted keeping about two ounces of the drug after
it was given to him for disposal by an officer posing as a mother who
had caught her teenage son with it.

The six-year member of Waterloo Regional Police is still trying to
beat the charges, however, by arguing officers acted improperly when
he was targeted in the sting.

An entrapment hearing - which could result in the case against Robson
being stayed - is expected to be held in Kitchener court this fall.

Robson worked as a constable in Cambridge when he came under suspicion
for marijuana use.

A sergeant with the force's intelligence branch was assigned to
investigate, enlisting a London police officer for a sting dubbed
Project Upright.

According to an agreed statement of facts read into the record by
federal prosecutor Anik Jodouin, the undercover officer approached
Robson while he was on duty in November 2010.

The officer told Robson she had caught her son drinking with friends
and confiscated marijuana found in her home.

Robson was under surveillance when he took the drugs from the woman,
parked in a nearby residential area and twice went into the trunk of
his cruiser.

He then turned in only half of the marijuana at the Cambridge
detachment.

The other half was found in Robson's knapsack - still in a sealed
police evidence bag - when he was arrested while driving home at the
end of his shift.

In addition to the entrapment motion to be heard this fall, lawyers
for Robson argued his rights were violated because the case took too
long to get to trial.

Justice Jeanine LeRoy rejected that argument last month, setting the
stage for Robson's guilty pleas Monday to possession and theft of marijuana.

During the delay hearing, the defence portrayed Robson as a man with
drug and alcohol addictions stemming from post-traumatic stress disorder.

His mental-health problems were blamed on "haunting events" on the
job, including a 2007 helicopter crash that he was sent to.

Appearing anxious and jittery in court, Robson has been suspended with
pay since his arrest 20 months ago.

He was one of several local officers charged criminally or under the
Police Services Act in a scandal involving drug use.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt