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Edmonton Sun - Alberta, Canada
14 August 2007

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Edmonton Police Service

Detective in hot water

A long-serving Edmonton police officer has been suspended without pay after cops charged him with three criminal offences yesterday.

Police allege that Wallace James MacNeil, a detective working out of the southeast division, interfered with an impaired-driving case against one of his family members.

He faces charges of obstructing justice, personation and breach of trust by a police officer. The charges stem from an investigation that began in 2005 when a police employee informed detectives in the professional -standards branch after noticing an irregularity in a file.

Because the case is now in court, police Insp. Brad Doucette couldn't elaborate yesterday on exactly what cops suspect MacNeil did to tamper with the investigation but, he said, "the allegations are fairly serious."

"We're very disappointed that one of our members would find himself at the centre of one of these allegations," said Doucette, who heads the professional standards branch that handles disciplinary matters against officers.

In a rare move, police brass have suspended MacNeil, who has 26 years' experience with the force, without pay.

While Doucette was unable to give details on MacNeil's record of service, he said there is "nothing significant in his history that would have led us to believe that he would do this."

The charges come just a few weeks after city police cited another officer, Const. Mike Wasylyshen, with three counts of assault and two counts of uttering threats. He remains on active duty.

But while he and MacNeil aren't the only city cops to find themselves in recent trouble, U of A criminologist Bill Pitt said allegations of misconduct aren't specific to Edmonton police.

"There's going to be deviance," he said. "There are going to be individuals within any profession who deviate from the norm."

Pitt added the charges at least demonstrate that police are able to hold officers to account. "I think it's reassuring to the public that individuals aren't going to get a free ride (and) they're not going to use the badge to get any special treatment," he said.

Doucette, echoing those comments, said there is a bright side to the case. "This shows that the high level of integrity that we expect of our people came through."

In the meantime, police have charged MacNeil's relative in the original impaired-driving case.

Doucette wouldn't reveal the relative's name nor would he specify the relationship to MacNeil. He noted, however, that police don't believe the relative was involved in the alleged tampering.

MacNeil may also face internal police disciplinary charges, Doucette said.

Staff Sgt. Peter Ratcliff, the president of the Edmonton Police Association, said that while in general the union provides legal assistance to officers facing criminal charges, he wasn't yet sure whether MacNeil would be getting any help.

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Article sourced from

Edmonton Sun - Alberta, Canada14 August 2007

Detective in hot water

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Edmonton Sun - Alberta, Canada
14 August 2007