Officer gets suspended sentence for breaking into estranged wife’s home

Breaking into the home of his estranged wife to reclaim property has earned a city police officer a one-year suspended sentence.

The officer, who isn’t being identified to protect the identities of the woman and their children, failed in his bid for a conditional discharge that would have avoided a criminal record.

Provincial Court Judge Morris Golden said the 10-year officer violated trust both as a father and a police officer, and knew he was violating a court order.

“As a peace officer, he is held to a higher standard,” said Golden. “Restraining orders and exclusive access orders are treated with great seriousness by the court and as police officer, he must have known this.”

During a heated divorce battle, the police officer had a locksmith drill through the door of the woman’s home on April 13, 2016, and then took items that were his, along with other items where the ownership was in dispute. As he was loading them into a truck, police arrived and arrested the offduty officer. An earlier court order required him to be accompanied by a police officer if there was ever reason for him to be at the address, such as during the retrieval of personal items.

He pleaded guilty to forcible entry, with the Crown seeking a two-year suspended sentence. The domestic nature of the offence and the man’s position as a police officer are aggravating factors, said Crown prosecutor Aaron Pegg.

“When police officers commit an offence, it brings the administration of justice into ill-repute,” he said.

It’s important the officer receive a criminal record “because the public has a right to know whether police officers have committed a crime,” added Pegg.

The officer’s estranged wife told court she was vacationing in Hawaii with her two young sons when word of the break-in reached her, souring the holiday. But she said the real stressful impact of the crime on her children — who were aged two and four at the time — would only become apparent after they’d returned to their damaged home.

“There was an overwhelming sense of a complete invasion of privacy and the worst part was my children had to experience it,” she said. “They equated it to a bad man but unbeknown to them, that bad man was their very own father, someone who was supposed to protect his children from harm.”

Defence lawyer James Wyman argued his client’s actions occurred amid the pressures of a messy divorce and immense financial difficulties, stemming largely from lawyers’ fees.

“This happened during a very difficult time in my client’s life,” said Wyman. The officer wants to return to a job he treasures and one in which he earned an award in 2010 for saving the life of a suicidal woman, he noted.

In addressing the court, the convicted officer expressed remorse and said he wasn’t ducking accountability.

“I was under a great deal of stress and was not making the appropriate decision,” he said. “I take full responsibility for my behaviour.”

He must also avoid contact with the woman, undergo counselling, and do 50 hours of community service.

An internal review will determine the officer’s fate with the Calgary Police Service.