Not guilty on all counts. That was the verdict for four Hamilton police officers accused of writing fake provincial offence tickets.
Bhupesh Gulati, Daniel Williams, Shawn Smith and Steven Travale were accused of writing false tickets after some provincial offence notice copies were found in a police shredder in 2014.
Court heard tickets are usually issued to the same 25-odd regulars of the downtown core, for things like panhandling and consuming liquor in public, and that they’re never paid. Officers testified they shredded copies of tickets that weren’t accepted by the offender.
The judge did find several examples of wrong dates and times written on tickets and had serious concerns about the legitimacy of some tickets but she still had enough reasonable doubt to acquit on all charges.
The officers still face police service act charges, but that doesn’t mean they’ll remain suspended from the police force. They have been suspended with pay since July 2015. We are told they’re expected to report for duty Monday morning.
A fifth officer, Staci Tyldesely, is also facing charges but she will be tried separately so her proceedings are still to come.
Source (with video): CHCH