Ticket fixing was ‘unwritten rule’ inside police force, corrupt officer tells psychologist

A corrupt former Winnipeg Police Service officer facing a prison sentence told a psychologist that ticket fixing was commonplace on the force.

Elston Bostock, 49, is expected to be sentenced next week on a long list of charges to which he recently pleaded guilty, following a lengthy police probe that began in April 2024.

Bostock, a veteran Winnipeg police officer of more than two decades, attempted to and sometimes successfully made traffic tickets disappear for friends and other officers for years, among his other more serious crimes.

He’s not the only one to do so, if his comments to a psychologist who prepared a report ahead of his sentencing are to be believed.

“Bostock reported that there was a culture in the police force of officers getting rid of tickets for other people. He noticed this practice when he started in 2003 and described it as an ‘unwritten rule,’” wrote psychologist David Hill in a report prepared for the former officer’s defence team.

“He knew it was not right and acknowledged that he extended it to some people that he shouldn’t have. He thought he was helping others and tended to minimize it in his mind.”

According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, on 22 occasions between February 2017 and September 2024, Bostock attempted — 12 times successfully — to get traffic tickets for friends and associates voided, usually in exchange for liquor or gift cards.

The court released a number of pieces of evidence from the case to the media Wednesday.

The exhibits made public included a phone call between Bostock and another officer, intercepted by investigators, in which the corrupt officer tried to get the other officer to toss out a speeding ticket for a friend of a friend, who he described as a “nice kid,” by going to court and telling the Crown to drop it because of extenuating circumstances.

The officer told Bostock he had never done that before, but Bostock told him “it works” and that “they’ve got such a caseload that they don’t really care.”

The other officer, sounding hesitant, told Bostock he would — but it was too late in the process to do so.

“I won’t be able to do that,” said the officer.

Several hidden camera videos, recorded by WPS investigators as part of an “integrity test” during their probe into Bostock’s actions, were also made public.

Bostock and his partner were called to a staged vehicle break-in outside a Super 8 Motel on Niakwa Road, with an undercover RCMP officer acting as the victim.

The officers arrived at the scene shortly before 8 a.m., in a cruiser that, unbeknownst to them, had been wired to record their movements and conversations.

The undercover “victim” told Bostock and his partner he had confronted a suspect and ripped a backpack from him before he ran away. Video shows Bostock discussing looking through the bag with his partner after interviewing the “victim.”

Bostock’s partner put the backpack in the trunk of the cruiser and the officers drove a short distance before pulling over and inspecting its contents. Video shows an officer removing cash, counting it (about $75) and splitting it with his partner.

On top of ticket fixing, Bostock admitted he trafficked drugs, interfered with crime scenes, and shared confidential information that put the public in harm’s way.

He also admitted to using cannabis and drinking on the job to the psychologist.

Bostock told Hill that the police service had a drinking culture when he joined, which included going to bars several nights in a row — and missing work because of hangovers.

The former officer said he made bad decisions while drunk, like getting behind the wheel and being verbally abusive to others. He also revealed he used cannabis “every day” for a “good portion” of his policing career, though not typically before work.

His lawyer said this week that Bostock relied on alcohol and drugs to self-medicate during periods of depression.

Bostock also told Hill he occasionally used cocaine and MDMA, commonly referred to as molly or ecstasy.

Hill found that although Bostock never sought treatment for his substance use problems, such help would benefit him.

Bostock told the psychologist he did not feel he was helping or making a difference near the end of his career.

“He was working overtime in special duty assignments, with the goal of making as much money as possible and then quitting at 25 years with a full pension,” wrote Hill.

“He noted that he was working an ‘insane amount of overtime’ and his family life suffered and he experienced burnout.”

The psychologist asked Bostock about the potential factors that motivated his criminal behaviour, to which he said “he just didn’t care anymore and didn’t see an ‘out’ during his later years with WPS.”

Bostock also took and shared a cellphone photo of a partially naked woman who had died from a drug overdose, which a Crown prosecutor said this week earned him “the unenviable distinction of being the only other officer (in Canada) to ever defile his badge in such a way.”

Bostock told the psychologist “that he felt horrible about (taking and sharing the photo) and wanted to apologize to the deceased’s family.”

“He was not in a good head space at that time and he now feels disgusted,” wrote Hill.

Bostock pleaded guilty on Nov. 7 to five counts of breach of trust and one count each of attempting to obstruct justice, obstructing a police officer, theft under $5,000, disseminating confidential information, and offering an indignity to human remains.

Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking drugs — including cocaine, MDMA, psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and illicit marijuana — between early 2016 and late 2024. Court has heard he sold drugs socially, rather than on a large scale.

The offences date back to 2016, but court heard this week that an internal police investigation found concerns about Bostock’s conduct dating back to 2009.

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Crown prosecutors Ari Millo and Janna Hyman asked Court of King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne to sentence Bostock to seven years in prison at a sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

Bostock’s lawyer, Richard Wolson, urged Champagne to choose a shorter prison term.

As a former police officer, Bostock’s life is in danger in custody and he spends as much as 23 1/2 hours a day in his cell, Wolson said in court. Bostock told Hill he worries about others hurting him in custody.

Champagne is expected to issue his decision on Jan. 23.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.