Brockville police officer given conditional discharge on drug count

A veteran Brockville police officer who pleaded guilty to possession of illegal drugs was given a conditional discharge in an Ottawa court on Monday.

Staff- Sgt. Todd Bertrend, who admitted buying drugs on the street to feed his addiction to Oxycocet, was put on probation for six months and ordered to do 50 hours of community service.

The conditional discharge means Bertrend, 51, will have no criminal record and would be able to resume his duties on the Brockville police force pending the decision of a tribunal under the Police Services Act, according to his lawyer, Michael O’Shaughnessy of Brockville.

In his written judgment, Justice Norman Boxall said he put weight on the fact Bertrend became addicted to Oxycocet after being prescribed the drug for an injury obtained while on the job.

As well, his readiness to admit the offence and seek treatment and his stellar reputation after 27 years on the Brockville force contributed to the discharge ruling, the judge said.

In early January of this year, police became suspicious of Bertrend and Ottawa police were called to investigate. Investigators stopped and searched Bertrend after seeing him meet a woman on a street and found him to have a baggie with 124 Oxycocet pills.

He was originally charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, but because the pills were of such a low dose an addict could easily consume 20 of them a day, the charge was reduced to simple possession. Bertrend pleaded guilty.

Brockville police Chief Scott Fraser said Bertrend’s police future is in the hands of a provincial tribunal, not the local force.

Bertrend, who joined the Brockville force in 1990 at the age of 23, remains on suspension with pay until the tribunal ruling.