SIX GO FREE AFTER ARRESTING OFFICER CHARGED

Six people arrested by a Peel Regional Police officer who stands
accused of trafficking in cocaine will walk free after Canada's
Justice Department decided not to prosecute them.

Justice Canada spokesperson Paula Creighan said yesterday six cases
involving Peel Const. Sheldon Cook either have been or will be stayed
following a review "to determine whether there is a reasonable
prospect of conviction," in light of the criminal charges the veteran
14-year officer is now facing.

All the cases involve drug charges, Creighan said, adding more cases
involving Cook may be reviewed in the coming weeks.

"It's difficult to say whether this will be it," she said, adding any
cases where the chances of a conviction appear slim will be dismissed
or stayed.

Currently, there are no plans to review closed cases, said
Creighan.

Just three weeks ago, an Ontario court judge acquitted former Toronto
Argonaut linebacker Orlando Bowen of assaulting Cook and another Peel
Police constable, and possessing cocaine outside a Mississauga strip
club back on March 26, 2004.

Bowen, 30, said he is considering launching a civil lawsuit.

Justice Ford Clements called Cook's evidence in court "incredible and
unworthy of belief," when he rendered his decision. He delivered his
ruling in late December after the Crown prosecutor in Bowen's case,
N.J. Bridge, asked the judge to withdraw the charges.

Bridge said she felt her "prosecution (was) flawed" after Cook was
himself charged with drug-related offences.

Cook, 38, who currently works out of Mississauga's 12 Division, is
free on bail though suspended with pay after the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested and charged him Nov. 18 with possession
of cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and
breach of trust.

RCMP officers tracked a shipment from Pearson International Airport to
a home in Cambridge, where they discovered 15 kilograms of cocaine
with a street value of more than $500,000.

Meanwhile, an internal investigation of Cook's cases by Peel Police
continues.

The allegations against Cook haven't been proven in court.