Toronto Cop Arrests Fellow Cop, Gets 'Rat' Treatment

Rookie Toronto cop Andrew Vanderburgh arrested an off-duty fellow officer on drunken-driving charges in 2009, and he's been "harassed and berated" within the department ever since, says an internal disciplinary ruling. The Toronto Star sees it as a classic case of a cop "who crossed the thin blue line and paid the price." One detail that stands out: As Vanderburgh drove back to his own station in a marked police car following the arrest, another officer pulled him over and gave him a ticket for allegedly disobeying a red light.

The ticket was later dismissed, and the officer who gave it to him has been docked pay and reprimanded. The disciplinary report singled him out because he chose “to disregard his professional obligations and embark on a course of retaliatory action against a colleague performing his sworn, lawful duty." Two other officers also were formally disciplined. The officer accused of drunken-driving, meanwhile, is still fighting the charges in much-delayed court proceedings. (More Toronto stories.)