A former Vancouver police officer caught dealing drugs on the job is sorry for what he's done and should receive treatment, not punishment, a psychologist testified Wednesday.
Disgraced former constable Peter Hodson pleaded guilty last year to two counts of breach of trust by a public officer and one charge of trafficking in a controlled substance.
In a sentencing hearing in Vancouver provincial court, defence witness Dr. Michael Elterman testified that Hodson is a narcissist who put his needs ahead of others' and whose need for excitement drove him to commit crime. He said the former basketball star was bored by policing -- a job that he had expected would be much more adventurous -- and decided to push the boundaries to see if he would get caught.
Hodson also took up drinking and cheated on his wife in the months leading up to his arrest, according to the psychologist.
Elterman said that Hodson didn't understand how his actions would impact his family, but is now deeply remorseful for what he's done.
The psychologist is recommending therapy rather than prison for Hodson and defence lawyer Vincent Michaels will argue for house arrest.
But Crown prosecutors are asking for jail time, arguing that Elterman's psychiatric report was based only on Hodson's evidence and any lies he told would discredit the report.
Hodson, a father-of-four who founded an African literacy charity, was arrested and promptly fired from the Vancouver Police Department in April 2010 after a two-month investigation.
His offences date back to December 2009, when he employed Tyson Pappas as a street-level drug dealer to push marijuana in the Downtown Eastside. Some of the deals were done while Hodson was driving a police vehicle.
Pappas worked as a police informant during the investigation, and officers secretly recorded Hodson selling marijuana and collecting the proceeds.
Hodson's sentencing hearing will continue on July 26.
