Charges dropped against former city police officer

Criminal charges against a former Calgary police officer who resigned after his arrest were dropped Thursday by the Crown.

Prosecutor Anders Quist told Justice Rosemary Nation he was entering a stay of all seven charges against former Const. Denis McHugh.

McHugh was charged in November, 2016, with 11 offences, including kidnapping, after an internal police investigation by the department’s professional standards section. Following a preliminary inquiry last August, he was committed to stand trial on seven of the allegations.

Among the charges provincial court Judge Josh Hawkes determined there was no evidence for a trial court to weigh was the kidnapping allegation.

But Hawkes did find there was some evidence to justify ordering McHugh to stand trial on seven other charges, including attempting to obstruct justice by offering to have traffic charges against Jessica Downey withdrawn for consideration.

He also ordered McHugh to stand trial on charges he committed fraud, or a breach of trust of his duties in his dealings with Downey, unlawfully used police computer searches on her and her then-boyfriend, Michael Zielinski, breached the trust of his office by doing computer searches of them and break and enter.

McHugh resigned after he was charged, but before retaining high-profile criminal lawyer Alain Hepner.

Following Quist’s decision to stay the charges, Hepner said his client was relieved.

“There was no attempt to obstruct justice at all,” Hepner said, outside court. “It was an attempt to get information as part of his duties as a police officer.”

He would not speculate on why Quist stayed the charges.

At McHugh’s preliminary inquiry, Downey testified she was visiting Zielinski at the Calgary Remand Centre on July 9, 2015, when the officer gave her tickets for having no driver’s licence, or insurance.

After ticketing her McHugh said the uninsured vehicle would have to be towed and offered her a ride home. During the lengthy trip, which Downey said took several hours, McHugh asked her about Zielinski and why she would be with someone like that.

He also suggested they could work something out with the tickets, but never said anything more specific than that, Downey told the court.

Under cross-examination, Hepner had repeatedly suggested McHugh was asking Downey questions about Zielinski’s criminal activities, but she denied being asked about that. Months after the incident McHugh showed up at Downey’s home and entered without her permission, she said.