Cop gets four years behind bars

(Update)
The sentence for a Niagara police officer convicted of leaking confidential police documents to the Hells Angels was handed down Wednesday. And Dean Rudge was given the four years behind bars the crown was looking for.

Rudge walked into the Welland Courthouse Wednesday afternoon, clearly angry knowing that he’d likely be spending time behind bars after being convicted of breach of trust.

Mark Evans is Rudge’s lawyer: “Obviously Dean Rudge is disappointed. Hoping some of the positive factors the Judge mentioned would be reduced just a bit.”

Four years for leaking police documents to the Hells Angels. Documents that had Rudge’s fingerprints on them and one that had the name of a confidential informant.

The most aggravating factor here for Justice Hambly and the reason he handed down a four year sentence was the nature of the Hells Angels themselves. It’s a criminal organization that hands out justice not through the courts but through beatings and murder.

In his decision, Justice Hambly says Rudge not only betrayed the confidential informant but also his fellow officers.

Niagara Regional Police Chief Jeff McGuire: “On a positive note, we have great people working for us. Unfortunately, it’s a matter of, choices and consequences is a term I’ve often used. Dean Rudge made some choices. Today, the consequences fell.”

Even though Rudge has been suspended since his arrest in April 2007, he’s been collecting his Constable pay up until today. Police Chiefs can’t suspend an officers pay until they’re sentenced to at least one day in jail.

Chief McGuire said: “Immediately upon being sentenced to a period of incarceration, I have the authority to stop his pay and that’s been done in the time it took for us to walk down the stairs.”

Disciplinary proceedings have been launched to formally fire him. However, Dean Rudge still has the option of appealing his four prison year sentence.

“Although this has been going on for almost seven years now, there are likely a few more steps before we get a final answer in the Rudge saga.”

To be clear here, Rudge can appeal his sentence, but he cannot appeal his breach of trust conviction. The deadline for that has already passed.