The head of internal investigations at the Montreal police force has been cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation by the Sureté du Quebec.
Inspector Carlos Labos was accused of lying to a judge while investigating another officer, namely Roger Lariviere.
Lariviere was being investigated after meeting with a journalist in 2014, and there was suspicion that Lariviere had passed on confidential documents.
That never happened. Lariviere was talking to the journalist because the reporter's wife, a police officer, had made a criminal complaint.
The charges against Lariviere were dropped, but filed a complaint against the investigating officer.
The complaint included a charge that Labos had lied to a judge in order to get a warrant to tap Lariviere's phones.
Following an investigation that began in June, Chief of police Philippe Pichet said Labos had done nothing wrong.
In essence, a police officer who was investigated and cleared filed a complaint against another officer, who was also investigated and cleared.
However Pichet said the animosity was understandable.
"He's responsible for all the police officers who are conducting investigations on police officers for disciplinary parts and also criminal investigations," said Pichet.
"It is an unpopular position. He's been doing that for six years now."
In what appears so far to be a coincidence, last week a restaurant owned by Labos' brother was attacked by arsonists.
Very little damage was done since employees from the Liege restaurant were able to extinguish the flames almost immediately.
Pichet said Friday that "there is nothing linking Labos to that act at this point."
