'ADDICTED' OFFICER WHO STOLE COCAINE WANTS JOB BACK

'Disabled'

OTTAWA - An Ottawa police officer who stole crack cocaine is fighting
to get his job back--and his lawyer says the case raises an important
issue around the responsibility of police to accommodate officers who
suffer from the "disability of drug addiction."

Lawyer Kenneth Jull, who is representing former con-stable Kevin Hall,
has formally filed notice of motion for leave to appeal a recent court
ruling that struck down the officer's attempt to be reinstated.

The notice says that Mr. Hall's case calls for "important judicial
interpretation" regarding the duty of a police force to accommodate
officers who suffer from the "disability of drug addiction."

The notice states that "judicial consideration and interpretation of
the duty to accommodate is a matter of significance in the areas of
employment law, labour relations and human rights throughout the
province and the country."

Mr. Hall, 45, has been suspended with pay since December,
2005.

He was ordered dismissed in December, 2006, following a police
disciplinary hearing. He admitted to taking crack cocaine from
motorists he stopped as well as from the evidence locker.

After his dismissal was ordered, Mr. Hall filed an appeal with the
Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services, which upheld the
original ruling a year ago.

The officer then filed an appeal with the divisional court, which
handles appeals of decisions made by administrative hearings and tribunals.

The divisional court ruled on Dec. 10 that the tribunal's decision was
reasonable.

During an interview this week, Mr. Jull said people might have had a
different opinion toward the officer if he had been addicted to alcohol.

"If you're dealing with something like cocaine or marijuana or
anything that's illegal, you've got to be careful, I say, to not let
the punishment paradigm transcend the rehabilitative paradigm of
getting the guy back," he said.