A Hamilton police officer testified Tuesday he was “shocked” when he found out suspended Det. Const. Craig Ruthowsky took a cocaine cutting agent to a private lab for testing on behalf of a drug dealer. That was “not within the norm” of police policies and procedures, Sgt. James Paterson told an Ontario Superior Court jury.When asked to explain the unorthodox practice, Ruthowsky told him he was trying to persuade a dealer he was a “dirty cop” so he, in turn, would lead him to a major drug importer, Paterson testified.Read more: Trial hears cop tipped off drug dealers in exchange for cashThe Crown, which opened its case Monday, alleges Ruthowsky shared sensitive police information with Hamilton-based drug dealers in return for monthly $20,000 cash payments. The tips purportedly included times and locations of search warrants, the identity of confidential informants and other information to help the traffickers evade detection and prosecution.Ruthowsky was charged with criminal offences after he was captured on Toronto police wiretaps talking to drug dealers in 2015. He has pleaded not guilty to breach of trust, bribery, obstruct justice, drug trafficking, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.Paterson, who was the Crown’s first witness, also had positive things to say about someone he described as his one-time best friend.Ruthowsky and Paterson, both in their 40s, had a long history. They shared a townhouse when they were rookie cops, socialized after the two men got married and started families, and later worked together in the guns and gangs unit, where Paterson was Ruthowsky’s supervisor.Before his arrest, Ruthowsky was one of the “driving forces” in the Hamilton Police Service’s guns and gang unit, Paterson said.“He was getting guns and drugs off the street at a much higher rate than any other individual in that crew,” Ruthowsky’s defence lawyer, Greg Lafontaine, aske ...
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