Hamilton Action officers court date today

The case of five Hamilton police officers facing criminal charges in connection to a fake ticket investigation was back in court today.

The officers are members of the ACTION team, which operates on foot and bike throughout the city. They face charges of breach of trust and fabricating evidence, following a nine-month investigation into 32 tickets found in a paper shredder box.  It’s alleged the officers wrote fake tickets targetting vulnerable people who didn’t know the tickets existed. Hamilton Police laid those charges back in June 2015.

Charged are Bhupesh Gulati, Shawn Smith, Steve Travale, Staci Tyldesley and Dan Williams. They have been suspended with pay.

The officers did not appear in court this morning. Lawyers were in court on their behalf.

A closed-door pre-trial hearing was held Feb. 29th. The case returns to court May 17th.