SaskatoonSgt. Robbie Taylor has appealed his March dismissal over his friendship with someone who is associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.Sgt. Robbie Taylor was fired in March over his friendship with a Hells Angels associatePhil Tank · CBC News · Posted: Nov 10, 2025 6:39 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A hearing was held in this room in the Parktown Hotel in Saskatoon, Sask. into the firing of veteran Saskatoon Sgt. Robbie Taylor on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (Phil Tank/CBC)A veteran Saskatoon police officer who was fired over his friendship with a Hells Angels associate will find out within two months if he can get his job back.Sgt. Robbie Taylor has appealed his March dismissal over his friendship with someone who is associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.A hearing into the appeal concluded Monday with closing arguments by Taylor’s lawyer, Brian Pfefferle, and a lawyer for the police, Ashley Smith.Pfefferle portrayed his client as an “exceptional” police officer, who befriended at-risk people such as the Hells Angels associate before the man came into a significant amount of money in 2021.“Being a compassionate person cost him his job because he had the courage to associate with people that are kind of like the lepers of society,” Pfefferle said.“He had the courage to make it known to everybody at the police service that that guy who has a criminal record was his friend.”The friend cannot be identified due to a publication ban on his identity. Hearing officer Ronni Nordal concluded the hearing by saying she expected a decision within two months.’Undesirable association’Chief Cam McBride fired Taylor over the friendship. Smith told the hearing that the dismissal was based solely on Taylor’s “undesirable association” and not his performance as an officer.Saskatchewan’s police act grants McBride the right to decide on discipline for officers, she added.Smith said Taylor has not ended the friendship with the unidentified man, even though he was suspended prior to being fired. Taylor borrowed a car from the man as recently as this summer, she said.“There’s no question that Mr. Taylor knew that this association was wrong,” Smith told the hearing. “That even when he knew (the man) would not end his association with the Hells Angels he continued his close friendship with (him).“Even when told not to contact him, he continued to contact him; after both his suspension, termination and even at this appeal hearing, he said he still hasn’t ended his friendship with (the man).”Smith dismissed a promise from Taylor to end the friendship if he is reinstated as a police officer.Taylor is also seeking $250,000 in damages. Smith said there’s no case law to support damages in a case such as this.The hearing heard that Taylor accepted gifts from the man, including a watch and payment for part of a trip to Ireland the two men took together last year. Taylor also attempted to intervene so the man did not receive a traffic ticket in 2023.Pfefferle said Taylor has acknowledged the intervention was “pretty stupid.”The hearing heard that Taylor’s friend participated in large-scale Hells Angels events and loaned vehicles to gang members. His association with gang members continued even after he became rich, Smith said.Former Saskatoon Police Service sergeant Robbie Taylor waits to testify at the appeal into his dismissal. (Dan Zakreski/CBC)Character witnessesPfefferle called two character witnesses who said Taylor helped them to tackle drug addictions.Former WHL star defenceman Connor Hobbs, who played for the Regina Pats, credited Taylor with helping him get clean after a short minor professional hockey career. “He didn’t judge me,” Hobbs told the hearing. “He didn’t condemn me. He saw me as a person with a problem.”With his dreams of playing in the NHL now behind him, Hobbs now works as a substitute teacher in Saskatoon. He said he has been sober for four and a half years.Peter Wickett, a former criminal and drug addict, said Taylor played a “big part” in his sobriety. Wickett now works as a welder in Calgary.Smith said the character witnesses are irrelevant to the dismissal.Pfefferle told reporters after the hearing concluded that the case could deter others from joining the Saskatoon Police Service if Taylor’s firing is upheld.ABOUT THE AUTHORPhil Tank is a journalist in Saskatoon.
Fired Saskatoon police officers lawyer says his compassion cost him his job
