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."