A former Edmonton drug officer turned private eye has been found not guilty of extortion in a case involving a police informant.
Queen’s Bench Justice Joanne Veit ruled the Crown had failed to prove 55 year old Ross Barros had tried to get charges withdrawn against an alleged drug dealer in exchange for Barros not revealing who the informant was.
Veit said there was no threat on Barros’ part to reveal who the informant was during a meeting with a city police gang unit detective. She said she accepted that he was doing what he was doing to ensure `nobody got hurt.’
She also accepted Barros’ evidence at trial that if he had felt there was any danger to the informant involved, he would have reported it to police.
Following the acquittal, Barros hugged his wife and children and shook hands with friends and supporters.
