Mayor commends police chief for ‘rooting out’ corrupt officer

Mayor Scott Gillingham is hopeful that how the Winnipeg Police Service responded to a serious case of corruption within its ranks will help restore public trust.

Elston Bostock, 49, a disgraced former WPS officer was sentenced to seven years in federal prison Friday for a long list of corruption-related crimes.

He was convicted of selling drugs, voiding traffic tickets and sharing confidential police information. He was also found guilty of indignity to human remains, for sharing a picture he took of a partially nude woman who had died of a drug overdose.

Gillingham said the case shows police are committed to addressing incidents of corruption.

“Our police chief and their executive, take the conduct of our police officers very, very seriously. And this all stemmed, ultimately, from investigations that the police were doing internally on their own members. By and large, the vast, vast majority, almost all of our police officers, I believe, are good men and women, people of integrity, who do their jobs as professionals, and they serve the public with a real commitment to public service … I commend the chief and his executive for identifying this and rooting it out,” said Gillingham.

The mayor said he hopes the lengthy investigation into the officer’s conduct helps reassure the public about how such charges are handled.

“(When) we hear of police officers being convicted and sentenced for corruption, for sure, it shakes public confidence. But I think, on the flip side, when we see our police chief and his executive treating this very seriously and rooting out these problems and any corruption in the police service, I think that can actually build public confidence,” said Gillingham.

Bostock was on the force for more than 20 years before he was charged and eventually fired.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga