Calgary police detective on trial for selling personal information of 43 people to company

Calgary police Det. Gerard Brand accessed private and confidential information from police databases and sold it to a private company for money, according to the Crown prosecutor in her opening statement at the officer's trial on Monday.

Brand is charged with breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computerstemming from activity alleged to have taken place between March 2010 and August 2011.

Prosecutor Leah Boyd told jurors the evidence will show Brand was paid by Manila Capital a cash loan company for the addresses and phone numbers of clients who owed money, but couldn'tbe found.

Boyd is an Edmonton-based prosecutor assigned to the case in order to avoid any conflict, given Brand is a police officer.

• Cash loan company allegedly paid detective for information

A 21-year veteran of the Calgary police at the time of his arrest in May 2012, Brand has been suspended with pay ever since.

There is evidence Brand sold the personal information of 39 people to Manila Capital,according to Boyd, who said none of the information shared by the detectivewas for investigative purposes.

The evidence includesan invoice from Brand for $2,300, she said.

He is also accused of helping a friend find four people "for personal and business use."

Justice GlenPoelmanis presiding over the three-week jury trial in Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary. Brand is representing himself.

There are strict privacy requirements for police officers and limits on when they are allowed to access databases like CPIC the Canadian Police Information Centre.

Aside from Brand, three current and former CPS officers also face breach of trust charges. They too are accused of accessing confidential databases for a private company.

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