Three Calgary police officers who were found guilty of misusing CPS resources while on the job and harassing a woman were sentenced on Wednesday.
Bradford McNish, Bryan Morton and Anthony Braille were all found guilty on April 27, 2018 for a number of duties their performed for a private investigation firm called Walton and Walton.
The court heard that the trio of police officers had been approached by Walton and Walton’s owner, retired police officer Stephen Walton, to enlist their help to dig up information about the wife of Calgary businessman Ken Carter.
Over a period of several weeks, the three officers tracked the movements of Carter’s wife, Akele Taylor, pocketing thousands of dollars for their efforts.
The three officers were charged in June 2016 after CPS documents revealed they accessed the force’s computer systems and even conducted surveillance while on duty.
Braille and Morton were found guilty on all of the counts against them while McNish was found not guilty of bribery but guilty on the other three charges against him.
On Wednesday, Justice Bryan Mahoney sentenced Morton to 30 months, McNish to six months and Braille to three months in jail for their roles in the bribery and surviellance scheme.
Crown prosecutor Julie Snowdon says the judge in the case did make it clear that it was a serious case of police corruption.
She added the issue is particularly troubling because it calls into doubt the public's trust of police officers.
"The public puts significant trust in them. They have significant powers and authorities so it's important that they not breach that trust."
Snowdon says Braille, who was found to have helped the investigation move along quite a bit, was given significant credit for that effort.
(With files from Stephanie Wiebe)
