VETERAN POLICE OFFICER FACING DRUG CHARGES RELEASED ON BAIL

Judge Sets Long List Of Conditions

A police officer has the same right to get out of jail on bail as
other citizens charged with serious criminal offences, a Quebec Court
judge ruled yesterday.

Judge Gilles Cadieux ordered Montreal police Constable Pierre Goulet
released from detention, pending his trial on charges of conspiracy
to import drugs, money laundering, drug-trafficking and possession of
the proceeds of crime.

Goulet, 41, is alleged to have taken part in a network that smuggled
cocaine into Canada from February 2000 to February 2002 through the
border town of Lacolle and the states of New York and Florida.

The judge said he took into account the fact Goulet had no previous
criminal record and was not accused of committing crimes while on duty.

The accused, a 14-year veteran of the police force, was providing
security at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport in Dorval prior to his
arrest on June 26.

Cadieux also cited severe shortcomings - witnesses who could not be
located or were imprisoned outside Canada, circumstantial evidence
and contested testimony by an undercover RCMP agent - in the federal
government's case outlined last week during Goulet's two-day bail hearing.

There is a publication ban on testimony at the hearing.

The judge noted that Goulet's mother and sister, who were present at
the hearings, pledged their homes as collateral to win his release.
Goulet "is not rich," and there is little chance of his fleeing
before his court proceedings, Cadieux said.

A "reasonable citizen informed of the circumstances of the case"
would not consider Goulet's continued detention necessary to public
confidence in the justice system, he added.

But the judge set a long list of bail conditions:

Goulet's mother, Claudette Lalande, must provide a $50,000 mortgage
on her South Shore home as security.

Goulet must post a $25,000 bond.

The accused must live with his mother, respect an overnight curfew
and report once a week to Montreal police.

He cannot possess a weapon, associate with known criminals or drug
dealers, or contact crown witnesses.

He cannot leave Quebec or possess a passport.

Goulet has been suspended from the police force without pay since his arrest.

Defence lawyer Gerald Souliere said Goulet's family members "are very
relieved" by the bail ruling. "The judge took into account he
(Goulet) had a clean record and there was no reason to detain him."

Souliere noted it could take a couple of days for Goulet to pull
together the $25,000 bond necessary for his release.

Crown prosecutor Richard Roy declined to comment on Cadieux's decision.

"The judge seems satisfied with the guarantees," he noted.

Goulet's next court date is Oct. 10, when the crown prosecutor is to
provide the defence with information about the evidence against the accused.

If found guilty on conspiracy to import cocaine, Goulet could face
life in prison. The maximum jail sentence on the other charges is 10 years.