MATTER OF LIFE, DEATH FOR MAN WHO UNMASKED ROGUE VANCOUVER COP

Vancouver druggie Tyson Pappas had nowhere to go but up after nearly
bleeding to death from a knife wound 12 months ago.

"I could have been dead. They had to wake me up on the operating table
to sign the blood transfusion forms," he says.

Pappas, 38, was the linchpin in an elaborate undercover investigation
that unmasked "rogue" cop Peter Hodson, resulting in his conviction on
charges of breaching his trust as a police officer by trafficking in
marijuana.

The successful sting, unveiled in an exclusive story in The Province,
led Vancouver police Chief Jim Chu to fire the five-year veteran and
brand him a "rogue."

The outcome could not have been more unlikely, given their respective
backgrounds.

Pappas bounced around foster homes and was on the street much of his
life. He was stabbed while sitting on a park bench last January.

Hodson was a talented high-school basketball player in White Rock, who
went onto the privileged life of a student at the University of B.C.
He had been on the police force for five years and was raising a family.

Pappas says his life has changed, mostly for the better, since
receiving a rare letter of commendation from the Vancouver police in
April.

"Thank God I don't live like that any more. I don't need the drama.
I'd rather live than die," says Pappas, a likable character with a
quick mind.

"I've been crime free and off the streets for one year. I'm 95 per
cent drug free. After years of using them all the time, I'm really
proud of that."

Old contacts have been renewed. His one-time Calgary foster mom, whom
he hadn't contacted in 10 years, wrote to say she had never heard of
anything like the police sting operation.

"I hope you're still doing well and staying clean. That's all I ever
hoped for you. Love you," she wrote.

Pappas still has the text message on the phone the police gave him. He
still has it because he has not abused the privilege.

But the inner demons and stresses haven't gone away. He suffers from
severe depression, anxiety and a bipolar condition.

"I have to work every day to try to stay sane. I can look at a wall
and have my mind race through a thousand nightmares."

There is a stark realization that he is 38 years old with no
education, no job and no money.

His hopes for the new year include cooking school, a restaurant job
and a final end to the court case when Hodson is sentenced.

"It's very hard to reintegrate yourself," he said.

Hodson, meanwhile, has pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching his
trust as a police officer and one count of trafficking in street level
amounts of pot. A charge of breaking-and-entering Pappas's apartment
for the purpose of extortion was dropped.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June.