Article content

A former Waterloo police officer who was suspended with pay for three years sent an email to police mocking them for paying him while he golfed, travelled and took a course that would allow him to pursue a career as a firefighter.

Craig Markham, 37, sent the email on March 27, 2015 and thanked the Waterloo Regional Police Service for a “nice gift.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'Dream come true': Ex-Waterloo Regional Police officer mockingly thanks force for paid suspension Back to video

“I was able to sit home, take courses, travel, and play lots of golf and get paid a first class pay check, receive full benefits, and a full pension for the last three years,” Markham wrote in the email.

Waterloo Region Police Chief Bryan Larkin released the email at a police services board meeting last week and called Markham’s situation an abuse of the system.

Markham closes the email by saying he’s “down south until the end of April playing golf and hanging out on the beach using some of that WRPS sick bank payout.”

He also thanked Waterloo police for having “opened up other doors” and paying him to “sit back and watch.”

Markham, who worked for 11 years as an officer, pleaded guilty to breach of trust and was given a conditional discharge in October 2012.

I was able to sit home, take courses, travel, and play lots of golf and get paid a first class pay check, receive full benefits and a full pension for the past three years

While working at the front desk in 2011, an acquaintance texted him to say her boyfriend was in custody. Markham pulled up the man’s file and spoke to him in his holding cell. The man was suspected to have ties with the Hells Angels, though they were never proven.