A former Calgary police officer is facing multiple charges after a man and woman filed a harassment complaint in January.
An investigation was launched, revealing the following:
On July 9, 2015, the woman was in a parking lot in northwest Calgary when she was stopped by an officer for a routine traffic offence. She was issued traffic violations and her vehicle was towed. The officer offered to drive the woman home to northeast Calgary, a trip the woman alleges took about three and a half hours, during which time she was unlawfully confined in the back of a locked marked police vehicle.
On January 15, 2016, the same woman was with her boyfriend when a police car approached them. It is alleged the same police officer from the July 2015 traffic stop exited his police car and made his way towards the couple’s vehicle. The woman exited the vehicle and went inside her house. Once at the vehicle, the officer asked the man to remain in his car and then entered the house without permission or legal authorization to do so.
Additionally, the investigation revealed the officer was accessing CPS computer databases to obtain information about the two complainants during the period between July 2015 and January 2016.
Former officer Denis McHugh is charged with:
- One count of kidnapping
- One count of obstruction of justice
- One count break and enter
- One count breach of the peace
- Two counts of fraudulently obtaining a computer service
- Five counts of breach of trust
McHugh had eight years of service with CPS, and will next appear in court on November 29, 2016.
“These are serious criminal charges, full stop. That a member in uniform is accused of these crimes is deeply concerning. 99.99 per cent of our police officers go out every day to earn the public’s trust and they work very hard to make sure that Calgary is a safe place and they maintain that. Any time that this type of behavior surfaces, it’s a betrayal to all police officers and to the public,” said Acting Deputy Chief Ray Robitaille.
Anyone who may have information relevant to this investigation is asked to contact the Calgary Police Service Professional Standards Section at 403-428-5904.
