Vancouver police officer fired, charged with dealing drugs, llegal use of police database
Photo of Peter Hobson, who was charged Wednesday after an internal investigation revealed he was selling drugs both on and off shift.
Photograph by: handout, Vancouver Sun
Vancouver police department Const. Peter Hodson was fired and arrested Wednesday after being charged with drug trafficking, breach of trust and break and enter with the intent to commit extortion.
The 31-year-old officer, a former University of B.C. basketball player who later helped create literacy projects in Africa, is also accused of the illegal use of a police database.
Police Chief Jim Chu described the case as "highly disturbing and disgraceful" and told a press conference the "rogue officer" was surprised when he was arrested at the department's Cambie Street headquarters.
Hodson has been charged with one count of trafficking marijuana, two counts of breach of trust in relation to selling drugs and the illegal use of a police database, as well as break and enter with the intent to commit extortion.
Oscar Lapitan was charged concurrently with Hodson for trafficking. Police did not identify the nature of their relationship.
Hodson had been the subject of an extensive, covert investigation since allegations surfaced within the police department during the Olympic period that he was dealing marijuana while on and off duty.
Realizing that the case "would alarm the public and the department," said Chu, the VPD "put many more resources into this investigation than we ever would for the average street dope dealer."
The department wanted to determine quickly whether the allegations were true and whether the "rot was confined to this one officer," added the chief.
A secret, off-site office was set up for the probe, which over the course of the investigation involved up to 30 police officers, including members of the RCMP.
"This joint investigation revealed no evidence that this was anything more than the actions of a single rogue officer," said Chu.
There is little in Hodson's background that would raise alarms â€" quite the opposite.
Hodson was a star basketball player at White Rock Christian Academy, where he led the Warriors to a Single A crown. Hodson was also a star with the Langara College Falcons and then with the University of B.C. Thunderbirds.
The department wanted to determine quickly whether the allegations were true and whether the "rot was confined to this one officer," added the chief.
A secret, off-site office was set up for the probe, which over the course of the investigation involved up to 30 police officers, including members of the RCMP.
"This joint investigation revealed no evidence that this was anything more than the actions of a single rogue officer," said Chu.
There is little in Hodson's background that would raise alarms â€" quite the opposite.
Hodson was a star basketball player at White Rock Christian Academy, where he led the Warriors to a Single A crown. Hodson was also a star with the Langara College Falcons and then with the University of B.C. Thunderbirds.
The shooting guard was on the T-Bird squad that defeated the Alberta Golden Bears in the 2003 Canada West championship game.
In 2007, Hodson set up a basketball program in Surrey for developmentally challenged youth.
Hodson's former teammate and coach with the Langara Falcons, Jamie Oei, was taken aback by reports about the criminal charges.
"That's shocking," said Oei. "The guy I knew was very religious and grew up in White Rock and was a straight-as-an-arrow type guy. But I haven't talked to him in years."
Besides being a star on the basketball court, Hodson also had a philanthropic streak. He founded a charitable organization, Under the Reading Tree, in 2003 to fund libraries and literacy in Africa. The group's website said Hodson was inspired to establish the non-profit after a trip to Uganda.
Since then, the organization has established three libraries in Uganda and one in Tanzania,
This is not the first time Hodson, who had been with the VPD fewer than five years and drove a patrol car in east Vancouver, has angered his superiors.
Hodson was charged in 2008 with driving while impaired off-duty and driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit. He was pulled over after another off-duty officer saw a car weaving along the road and called 911. Those charges are still before the courts.
Chu alleged that the "bad apple" was selling "street-level" quantities of pot, which typically involves two pounds or less. The offences allegedly occurred between Dec. 4, 2009 and April 20, 2010.
"I want to reassure the public that the integrity of the VPD, while shaken by this abhorrent incident, has not been broken," said Chu. "The members who became aware of Hodson's conduct saw his actions as deplorable and it strengthened their resolve to gather evidence to support criminal charges and to rid the VPD of his presence."
Chu said that the case against Hodson developed by the VPD and Crown counsel involves both police and non-police witnesses.
Hodson is to make his first court appearance today.
Click here to read Police Chief Jim Chu's full statement on the arrest
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