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A friendship cost former Saskatoon Police Service Sgt. Robbie Taylor his job earlier this year and now he wants it back.
Taylor is appealing his dismissal in a hearing that centers around his relationship with an unnamed Hells Angels associate, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.
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During the day’s proceedings, Taylor had a green-beaded rosary either wrapped around his hand or on his neck.
Day two of the hearing was dedicated to the testimony of Sgt. Alain Belleau, an expert in organized motorcycle gangs, specifically in the nature and structure of the Hells Angels and their support groups. He said in his 19 years of intelligence gathering, he’d never seen a friendship like this one.
He began his testimony by describing the nature of the Hells Angels from the opinion report he prepared for the hearing.
“It’s judicial knowledge that the organization is a criminal one, with the main purpose of selling drugs, resulting in large amounts of cash for those involved,” he said.
Becoming a member of the Hells Angels requires total commitment from a person and can take seven to eight years. Before getting to that level, though, one of the highest titles a person can hold is associate, he explained.
Belleau said that associates are potential candidates for membership, and as such, are considered highly trustworthy by those in the chapter. Gaining that trust also means a person has proven their commitment to the organization.
With his friend’s level of involvement in the Hells Angels, he said that he had concerns about the friendship. He even said that being a police officer and maintaining that relationship are incompatible desires.
Belleau’s top concern was the security of information.
He said the Hells Angels will “try and corrupt anyone they can for their benefit.”
Regarding law enforcement specifically, he said members want to gain information that could identify informants and prevent arrests and the seizure of drugs.
According to Belleau, there’s no pattern on how corruption happens, making it difficult to prevent. While he couldn’t estimate the likelihood of corrupting someone in law enforcement, he said with Taylor’s access to sensitive information, the risk is always there.
He also said that letting Taylor go back into the police service could damage the trusting relationship needed in law enforcement.
Officers wouldn’t be able to discuss investigations in front of Taylor that involve his friend. Belleau said maintaining that secrecy would be time consuming and inevitably unsustainable.
During cross-examination, though, Belleau said he didn’t find any evidence of corruption in this case, adding that he didn’t see anything to suggest Taylor provided his friend with information.
In a series of hypothetical questions posed by one of Taylor’s attorneys, Scott Hopley, the point was raised that there are police officers who have family members in the Hells Angels.
But Belleau said those relationships are different. He said in those instances officers cut off ties with the family in question, whereas in this situation, Taylor is choosing to maintain the friendship.
