Const. Todd Sheppard got a good bargain when he walked out of a Merivale Road Canadian Tire store with a brand new backpack, but he’s paying for it now.



The 18-year veteran of the Ottawa Police Service was demoted Tuesday after admitting to switching the price tag on an expensive hiking bag with that of a cheaper model, while on duty, and walking out of the store after knowingly paying $20 for an item valued at $150.



Const. Sheppard was caught in the act by a security guard at the store, and later admitted his guilt when investigators with the service’s Professional Standards section came calling.



A criminal investigation and a chief’s complaint were launched, though criminal charges were never pursued.



Hearing officer Terence Kelly found Sheppard guilty of discreditable conduct Tuesday and said the joint submission on penalty — a demotion from first-class to second-class constable for a period of 12 months — is “acceptable.”



Sheppard, who has no disciplinary history with Professional Standards, appeared contrite when given the chance to speak.



“As serious and grave as these proceedings are, they are the result of my neglect of certain matters,” he said. “I can promise the court they are being addressed.”



Sheppard was first flagged by a loss prevention officer — identified in an agreed statement of facts only as RL — who spotted the plainclothes officer on a security monitor at the store on Feb. 24.



Sheppard was on duty that afternoon, working as a firearms officer out of the Greenbank station, when he brought an expensive backpack to the cash register. The security guard didn’t know the police officer, but recognized the expensive bag, as six of the same model had previously gone missing from the store.



The guard zoomed in on the transaction and saw the $150 bag scanning at $20, then noticed the bag had a price tag from a cheaper model clipped on to it.



The guard told the cashier by phone to stop the sale, and overheard the customer say he would pay full price, and that “he would not switch the tag because he is a police officer,” according to the agreed statement of facts.



The guard reviewed the security footage, which showed Const. Sheppard in the luggage aisle for approximately three minutes. When the guard inspected the aisle, he found the price tag for the expensive backpack lying on the floor, and saw three price tags were missing from cheaper bags.



When the guard returned to the cash register, the customer was gone. The cashier let him go, with the backpack, “as he said he was a police officer, and she trusted it was the right price.”



The guard turned up the name Todd Sheppard in the store’s returns databank, and contacted the OPS organized fraud unit.



When police interviewed him, Const. Sheppard immediately admitted he had switched the price tags.



Kelly noted the officer’s spotless record and lengthy service history when handing down the penalty. Sheppard has been with the Ottawa force since 1998, and previously served seven years with Chateauguay police.



ahelmer@postmedia.com



Twitter: @helmera