Saskatoon police chief calls officer’s gang associate friendship ‘highly inappropriate’

Saskatoon’s Police Chief says a former officer’s friendship with a gang associate put the integrity of the police service at risk.

Saskatoon’s police chief says a former cop’s friendship with a gang associate was “highly inappropriate, very problematic, and risky.”

Sgt. Robbie Taylor was fired from the Saskatoon Police Service in March, following an internal investigation into his relationship with a person associated with the Hells Angels. The associate cannot be named due to a publication ban.

Taylor is appealing the dismissal through a hearing.

Testifying Wednesday, Chief Cam McBride said part of his role is to ensure the police service upholds its values and ethics. He said Taylor’s actions breached the service’s code of ethics, pointing to instances where, he said, the officer tried to benefit the associate.

In one example from 2023, McBride said Taylor attempted to stop another officer from issuing the associate a traffic ticket.

McBride also pointed to a letter of support Taylor wrote to the Parole Board of Canada on the associate’s behalf.

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Asked why remedial measures weren’t considered before termination, McBride said trust had already been broken among members of the force.

“I would literally have to demand that our staff trust him,” he testified.

Taylor’s lawyer, Brian Pfefferle, said there is no evidence the officer shared information with the Hells Angels.

He argued Taylor was living the core values of the police service by “being the difference” and not discriminating against someone with a criminal past.

“If Sgt. Taylor is not fit for the badge because he treated someone not as a criminal, not as a drug dealer, but as someone who had a past that was deserving of redemption, well, I’d hate to see who is deserving of the badge,” Pfefferle told reporters.

Taylor’s legal team has also raised concerns about procedural fairness, saying disclosure rules were not properly followed. An abuse of process application is set to be heard Thursday morning.