On Wednesday, Justice Bryan Mahoney ordered all three Calgary officers found guilty in a bribery and harassment scandal to serve time behind bars.
“These offences were not short term schemes,” Mahoney said. “They were serious, persistent and bold.”
In August 2014, Akele Taylor, who was involved in a child custody battle, came forward to police with concerns her ex-common law husband –business partner Ken Carter — had hired a private investigator’s firm to follow her.
The owner of the private investigator’s firm is a retired officer, Stephen Walton, who served from 1978 to 2003. Investigators said he hired three active members to follow Taylor’s activities.
Officers Bryan Morton (35), Bradford McNish (61) and Anthony Braile (50) were found guilty of multiple charges following a trial in April 2018.
Morton was on active duty when he began using police databases to track Taylor’s movements.
On Wednesday he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
McNish was on workers compensation when became involved in the scheme. He was found guilty of breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer and on Wednesday was sentenced to six months jail time.
Braile was on suspension from the Calgary Police Service for an unrelated matter when he began tracking Taylor and her child. However, at some point he had a change of heart and turned on his fellow officers, revealing what was going on.
Braile was sentenced to three months to be served intermittently.