Former Edmonton homicide detective charged with breach of trust

A former Edmonton police officer has been charged with breach of trust for allegedly sharing confidential investigative information with the media without authorization. 

Retired Staff Sgt. Bill Clark was charged Tuesday, Edmonton Police Service said in a news release.

Police provided few details about the allegations, but said the investigation was conducted by the Edmonton Police Service Professional Standards Branch with oversight from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the province's police watchdog. 

The investigation was reviewed by the Alberta Crown Prosecution Services in Calgary to determine if criminal charges were warranted.

Prosecutors recommended the former officer be charged with one count of breach of trust, police said. 

Police declined to provide further details on the investigation as the case is currently before the court.

CBC News reached Clark Wednesday but he declined to comment on the charge or the investigation. 

The investigation began in early 2023 and Clark was suspended without pay in April 2024, pending the outcome of the professional standards branch investigation.  

Clark served 44 years with Edmonton police before he retired in May 2024.

Breach of trust cases

Sandrine Ampleman-Tremblay, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta's law faculty, said breach of trust charges are usually related to sexual misconduct, police misusing resources, or sharing unauthorized information. 

"We do see police officers speaking with people they actually know about information they shouldn't be disclosing to the public," Ampleman-Tremblay said in an interview Wednesday. 

According to ASIRT's website, five individual enforcement officers in Alberta have been charged with breach of trust since 2017. None have been related to sharing confidential information with the media. 

One is for the alleged publication of intimate images without consent, a case which is still before the courts.

Another case is for falsified records, two are related to sexual assaults and one is for theft. 

Ampleman-Tremblay said it's difficult to know the impact the charge against Clark will have. 

"All police officer misconduct cases do get a lot of public attention and it can have some reputational harm for EPS depending on what happened next."

Vocal police member

He was a high-profile and vocal member of the EPS and his tenure with the service was not without controversy. 

In 2011, his remarks about a homicide at busy nightclub triggered a complaint from the victim's widow, who suggested he had unfairly labelled Edmonton's Somali community as unwilling to co-operate with police.

Following the shooting, Clark had expressed his frustration that only one witness gave police a description of a suspect even though the club was full of people. 

In 2018, he faced a formal complaint for comments he made about criminals and the death penalty during a guest lecture at the University of Alberta. A group of law students later stepped forward to defend his remarks. He was ultimately docked 10 hour's pay. 

A longtime homicide detective, he was known for his candid approach to media interviews. He served as detective on a string of high-profile murder and missing persons cases.

Breach of trust is an indictable offence and can result in a sentence of up to five years.