CANADA - Cop in document leak has acquittal overturned

OFF THE WIRE

Erica Bajer
 torontosun.com
Niagara officer accused of leaking information to Hells Angels...

 Hells Angels - Members of the Motorcycle Club the Hells Angels walk down King St. West in Toronto

A new trial has been ordered for a Niagara, Ont., police officer accused -- and later acquitted -- of leaking confidential police documents to the Hells Angels, including information about a rival motorcycle gang.
The Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal of Niagara Regional Police (NRP) Const. Dean Rudge in a decision released late last week, citing an error in law by the trial judge.
Rudge, who has been suspended from the NRP with pay since April 2007, was found not guilty of breach of trust by Superior Court Justice Harrison Arrell after an 11-day trial in the spring 2010.
"This court does not lightly overturn an acquittal," Justice Gloria Epstein wrote in the appeal decision, penned on behalf of Associate Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor and Justice Robert Blair.
"The trial judge approached the evidence comprising the case for the prosecution in a manner that amounted to an error in law."
Following an investigation by the service's intelligence unit, Rudge, who worked in the NRP's Port Colborne, Ont., detachment, was charged with passing documents to the Hells Angels -- including information about plans by the Outlaws motorcycle gang to reopen a St. Catharines chapter.
The probe stemmed from raids in 2006 when police found the Hells Angels in possession of the confidential documents.
The officer, who started with the service in 1985, denied the allegations against him at his first trial, claiming a third party stole the documents from the detachment.
Deputy Chief Joe Matthews said Rudge has been suspended since 2007 and faces several counts, including discreditable conduct, under the Police Services Act.
"(Police Services Act) disciplinary matters are currently outstanding and any resolution of those matters will be made pending the conclusion of criminal court matters," he said.
He said Rudge remained under suspension during the appeal process. No date has been set yet for the new trial.
Ministry of the attorney general spokesman Brendan Crawley said he can't comment on the appeal as the matter is before the courts.
Rudge couldn't be reached for comment Monday and his lawyer Ron Brady declined to speak with QMI Agency.
-- with files from Jeff Bolichowski