CONVICTED PEEL OFFICER AVOIDS PRISON FOR NOW

Suspended Peel police officer Sheldon Cook was granted bail Monday -
just four days after he was sent to prison for several convictions,
including stealing fake cocaine from a botched RCMP drug sting.

Following Friday's sentencing, his lawyers immediately filed notice
his convictions would be appealed. After spending the weekend in
custody, the 19-year veteran officer was released Monday pending the
outcome of his appeal.

Justice Casey Hill sentenced Cook, 43, to five years and eight months.
He had no previous police discipline history or criminal record.

Hill dismissed a federal Crown's application to seize his financial
interest in his Cambridge home under an offence of conviction
application.

On June 23, Hill convicted Cook of numerous offences, including some
related to the disappearance of fake cocaine that was being used in an
RCMP drug sting. He was convicted of unlawfully attempting to possess
an illegal substance for the purpose of trafficking, breach of trust,
unlawful possession of stolen property and possession of marijuana.

Hill believed Cook was driven by "greed." The drugs would have been
worth between $315,000 and $540,000 had they been real, Hill said in
sentencing him for what he described as a "serious breach of public
trust" that risked the reputation of the entire force.

Using a GPS tracking device, the RCMP found 15 bricks of a missing
shipment of dummy cocaine inside a personal watercraft in his garage
in November 2005.

Cook maintained his innocence throughout the trial, insisting he was
set up by other officers.