Pop-drinking policeman acquitted

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The Calgary police officer charged with neglect of duty for drinking a soft drink at the scene of a burglary has been acquitted.

The charges were dismissed against Const. Norman Manyfingers by an internal police hearing last week.

It was a waste of time, said Manyfingers, who appeared before the disciplinary hearing on five different occasions for an average of three hours each time. He said he had a number of investigations he could have been working on instead of answering to frivolous charges.

The charges strummed from a complaint from the owner of a video store that had been burgled. Manyfingers and his partner, fellow accused Const. Ron Hyde, were called to investigate the break-and-enter. The store owner complained the officers failed to question him at length and didn't take the matter seriously.

He also said Manyfingers behaved unprofessionally when he drank pop while on duty. "We did everything necessary in investigating that crime," said Manyfingers, explaining why the charges were dismissed. Manyfingers testified it wasn't unusual for police officers to have coffee, tea or a soft drink while on duty. He told the disciplinary hearing it was particularly busy the night of the complaint and the officers couldn't take a break until 5 a.m. He was thirsty.

Although Manyfingers believes the complaint was racially motivated, he doesn't expect he'll file a human rights complaint. There is no concrete proof on which he could file a complaint, and he didn't lose financially, he said. In fact, he racked up two hours of overtime.

The expense of the proceeding is particularly maddening, he adds. His overtime, plus that of the police superintendent's who acted as judge, the inspector's time, his partner's time and the cost of a lawyer all contributed to a big waste.