Former Vancouver police officer convicted Peter, three

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Former Vancouver police officer convicted of trafficking should get three to four years: Crown


VANCOUVER -- Former Vancouver police officer Peter Hodson supplied marijuana to a street level dealer for months, sometimes meeting him while on-shift in uniform and driving a marked police car, Vancouver Provincial Court heard Thursday.

And that dealer later told police he felt threatened and intimidated by Hodson when the cop was trying to collect an $1,800 debt the dealer owed for some missing pot.

Crown prosecutor Joe Bellows told Hodson's sentencing hearing that the disgraced ex-officer should spend three and a half years behind bars.

Hodson's lawyer Vince Michaels wants his client to serve any sentence he gets in the community so he can provide for his young family.

Now 32, Hodson pleaded guilty Nov. 30 before Judge Gregory Rideout to one count of drug trafficking and two counts of breach of trust after he was caught in a 2010 undercover investigation launched by his own department.

For the first time Thursday, Hodson's misdeeds were laid out in detail from text messages, intercepted phonecalls, video surveillance and witness statements to police.

Bellows also read a letter from Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu, who said his officers "were shaken and literally in disbelief" over Hodson's crimes.

"When a police officers engages in the kind of outrageous criminal conduct that Peter Hodson displayed, the damage to public confidence and the hard-won reputation of the VPD is incalculable," Chu said. "In violating his oath of office, Peter Hodson betrayed himself, his colleagues and the public in the most shameful way."

Four years after Hodson joined the force in 2005, he asked homeless crack addict Tyson Pappas to work for him in the drug trade, Bellows said.

Hodson set Pappas up at the London Rooms on East Georgia, got him a cell phone and later delivered a fridge full of pot for Pappas to sell, Bellows said. The cop also gave Pappas scales and zip-lock bags and suggested the dealer get business cards to increase profits.

In December 2009, Pappas was arrested by the VPD with 23 grams of the marijuana for which he had not yet paid Hodson.

One of Hodson's breach of trust counts relates to his accessing the PRIME police data base to look up Pappas' arrest report while on shift on Dec. 31, 2009.

Afterwards, Hodson sent a text to Pappas: "Just read the file. You are treating me like I am f--king stupid."

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Pappas was injured in a stabbing in January that was being investigating by VPD. Afterwards, he told Hodson he didn't want to sell pot anymore, Bellows said.

Around the same time, a detective working with Hodson became concerned when the young officer -- who was separated at the time -- started talking about having to earn extra cash to support two mistresses. And Hodson commented that someone could make $100,000 a year from a marijuana growing operation, Bellows said.

On Feb. 19, 2010, Pappas reported Hodson to VPD, launching the probe that would end the young cop's career. And Pappas agreed to work as a police agent.

Ten different drug-for-money transactions were set up between April 4 and 15, 2010 as part of the undercover sting. Many of the meets took place in the parking lot of the McDonalds at Main and Terminal in Vancouver.

Sometimes Hodson would send the marijuana to his accomplice, Oscar Lapitan, who has also pleaded guilty to trafficking. He is to be sentenced June 16.

Right before Hodson's arrest, in April of last year, he made a deal with an undercover officer to supply half a pound of pot every Friday for $1,500.

Bellows said that Hodson "showed no emotion at all" when he was taken into custody by his fellow officers.

Investigators "informed me that they were more emotional than he was," Bellows said. "They described him as very detached."

Hodson's lawyer will present his arguments June 7. But he made it clear Thursday he is disputing any suggestion that Hodson used threats or intimidation while dealing with Pappas.

Outside court, Hodson, his wife by his side and surrounded by supporters, said he is looking forward to telling his side of the story to the judge.

"I take full responsibility and I look forward to going to court," he said.

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Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu's Letter to the judge on the sentencing of former police officer Peter Hodson:


"Police agencies, including the Vancouver Police Department, can only be truly effective in providing public safety if they have the confidence of the community they serve. Trust is very difficult to build, but easy to lose. In the VPD, we have worked very hard at every level of the organization to earn a high level of trust in the community. When one of our police officers fails to meet expectations of the public, that trust is inevitably damaged. But when a police officers engages in the kind of outrageous criminal conduct that Peter Hodson displayed, the damage to public confidence and the hard-won reputation of the VPD is incalculable. In addition, Peter Hodson's conduct severely affected morale in the VPD. Our police officers and civilian staff were shaken and literally in disbelief after learning of Peter Hodson's conduct."


Fortunately, the moral foundations in the VPD are strong, as was the public's hard-earned confidence and we were able to weather the fall-out from Peter Hodson's criminal behaviour. Nevertheless, in violating his oath of office, Peter Hodson betrayed himself, his colleagues and the public in the most shameful way. The VPD values its reputation with the public as a professional police service with the highest standards of integrity."


Peter Hodson, the former Vancouver Police officer convicted of drug trafficking, leaves his sentencing hearing with his wife and supporters at Vancouver Provincial Court in Vancouver June 2, 2011


Joe Bellows, Crown prosecutor in the crown's case against the former Vancouver Police officer Peter Hodson, speaks to the media outside Vancouver Provincial Court on Thursday, June 2, 2011.



Peter Hodson celebrates with UBC men's basketball teammates in 2003 after a victory against the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the CIS Canada West final.