Examination of Thunder Bay police officers continue on third day of J.P. Levesque trial

Two Thunder Bay police officers testified on Wednesday morning at the trial for police chief J.P. Levesque.

Levesque was charged with breach of trust and obstruction of justice in the spring of2017 for allegedly disclosing confidential information about Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs.

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Acting chief Sylvie Hauth was the first to take the stand on Wednesday morning.

She went over a number of dates including the meeting RCMP had with Thunder Bay police on December14 in regards to the extortion allegations against Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs.

The biggest piece of information revealed at the morning testimony was whenHauthsaid Levesque told her why he informed Mayor Keith Hobbs about the extortion allegations put against him.

Levesque toldHauthhe wanted to "protect her," aswanted her to be informed just in case the investigation became public and she would have to deal with it alone. There was a concern that Hobbs would go public with the investigation, or would bring public attention to the investigation itself.

Hauthalso said that she never reported that she knew thatLevesque told Hobbs about his extortion investigation, as the chief had notified her at a luncheon before leavingfor vacation.

Her response to being informed about the Levesque and Hobbs conversation was, "o.k."

During cross examination, Hauth expressed that being a police chief is a tough job, saying that Levesque "made the best decision, considering the circumstances."

Hauthsaid the past year and a half has made for "challenging times" with the Thunder Bay Police Service. Hauthsaid as the chief of police,"you make the best decision considering the circumstances."

Acting Deputy Police Chief Don Lewis, who was also on the stand earlier today, told court he met with Keith and Marisa Hobbs on January 3, 2017, regarding Hobbs' extortion concerns. Lewis testified that Keith Hobbs wanted Thunder Bay police to investigate the matter, but Lewis informed him the investigation would be handled by another agency.

Defence Counsel Brian Gover went through a series of questions with Lewis under cross-examination, including establishing the character of Levesque.

The Crown objected to the questions, suggesting that defence was looking for a legal opinion, when Lewis should not be put in that position. Lewis was allowed to answer the question, when it was agreed the response would be part of a legal voir dire statement.

Lewis also said in cross-examination there was a concern that the investigation could "blow up", hence why Levesque had told Hobbs about the investigation.

City manager Norm Gale, as well as other officers with Thunder Bay Police Service will testify this afternoon.