A Vancouver police officer charged with trafficking marijuana on duty was remanded in custody after his first appearance in court on Thursday.
Former constable Peter Hodson, 31, has been charged with trafficking drugs, two counts of breach of trust -- one for selling drugs and the other for illegal use of a police database -- as well as break and enter with the intent to commit extortion.
He made a brief appearance in Vancouver provincial court Thursday morning, when he was ordered to remain in pre-trial detention in Surrey until his next court appearance on Monday.
Chief Const. Jim Chu announced Hodson's arrest and firing at a press conference on Wednesday.
In a prepared statement, Chu described the charges as "shocking and disturbing."
He said that he was unable to discuss details of the case, but "I can tell you that we observed behaviour that suggested Hodson was trafficking street level amounts of marijuana both on and off duty."
This isn't the first time that Hodson has turned up on the wrong side of the law – he was also arrested and charged with drinking and driving on November 16, 2008 after he was seen driving erratically.
That case is still before the courts.
Chu said that police learned of new allegations against Hodson about two months ago.
"We had to take immediate and thorough action to determine whether the allegations were true and if they were, if the rot was confined to this one officer," Chu said.
The alleged offences date back to December of last year.
Chu said that police found no evidence that other officers were involved in the alleged crimes, but a civilian co-defendant, Oscar Lapitan, is accused alongside Hodson.
A special office involving as many as 30 officers was created to investigate the allegations, police received assistance from specialized units of the RCMP.
Chu said that the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner was notified of the investigation.
Before he was a cop, Hodson was a star basketball player, first for White Rock Christian Academy, then at Langara College and the University of B.C.
He also founded an African literacy charity called Under the Reading Tree after a trip to Uganda.
