Prosecutors push for 7 years in prison for disgraced Winnipeg police officer

Prosecutors want a disgraced Winnipeg police constable to go to prison for seven years, after he pleaded guilty to a list of crimes including selling drugs, fixing traffic tickets and sharing a photo he took of the partially naked body of a woman who died of an overdose.

Provincial Crown attorney Ari Millo said while Elston Bostock has no criminal record and previously received a policing award from the Governor General — which was rescinded after the allegations against him came to light — he "cannot be fairly described as a person of prior good character."

The 22-year veteran of the Winnipeg Police Service "just didn’t get caught until now," Millo told Court of King’s Bench Justice Kenneth Champagne during Bostock’s sentencing hearing Tuesday.

The facts of the case showed Bostock repeatedly engaged in criminal conduct for years, undermining police investigations, corrupting colleagues and damaging confidence in the administration of justice, the prosecutor said.

"Elston Bostock’s actions have caused reputational damage to the WPS on a scale rarely, if ever, seen in the history of the service."

Court heard while Bostock, 49, is no longer an officer, he will get to keep his police pension.

He appeared in court Tuesday wearing a grey sweatsuit and shackles around his ankles, and was at times emotional when the topic of his young daughter came up.

The crimes Bostock pleaded guilty to include getting traffic tickets voided in exchange for liquor and gift cards, stealing cannabis from a police scene, sharing confidential police information, selling drugs — including cocaine and psilocybin — to friends and other officers, and sending lewd texts about a photo he took of the nearly naked body of a woman who had fatally overdosed.

Prosecutor Millo said Bostock’s moral blameworthiness for the last of those offences "cannot be overstated."

"That young woman had just died, wasn’t dressed and [was] as vulnerable as a person could be. He then sent disturbingly callous messages, sexualizing her for the members of the very police force that was entrusted with preserving her dignity," Millo said.

Court heard a number of victim impact statements from that woman’s family, including one from her 13-year-old daughter, who detailed how the incident made her lose trust in police as she grieved her mother.

"My mom deserved better, and so did our family. I want people to understand that what this officer did hurt me very deeply," the girl’s statement said.

"I am just a kid, and this has changed how I feel and how safe I feel. I hope no other child has to feel this kind of pain."

Bostock was charged after a lengthy investigation, dubbed Project Fibre, that began in April 2024.