Former Edmonton Police Service Const. Lauren Skibinsky pleaded guilty to perjury and was handed a 12-month suspended sentence with 100 hours of community service in Court of King’s Bench today. 

Skibinsky resigned from the EPS in April after being charged with perjury for testimony he gave during a 2021 criminal trial he faced for forgery and obstruction of justice involving altered traffic tickets. He was found not guilty of those charges. 

The testimony where Skibinsky perjured himself involved a 2017 traffic enforcement operation on Anthony Henday Drive where Skibinsky had pre-filled out 60 tickets in advance of the operation with a court date that was on a Saturday. According to an agreed statement of facts Skibinsky, an 18-year veteran of the EPS, later altered the tickets for a day when court was in session but denied making the change while under oath during his trial. 

“[Perjury], especially by a police officer, is something the Crown takes very seriously,” crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey told the Edmonton Court of King’s Bench. 

The judge in this case was Court of King’s Bench Justice Paul Belzil who called the case “a very unfortunate situation,” and remarked that it was unfortunate that Skibinsky lost his career. 

Skibinsky’s defence lawyer Mike Danyluik spoke about his resignation from EPS in court noting that Skibinsky had realized that his actions “did not align with the core values of the Edmonton Police Service,” and that there was nothing he could do to repair that.

Belzil decided on a sentence that was the low end of the joint submission from the Crown and Skibinsky’s defence lawyer, imposing a 12-month suspended sentence with 100 hours of community service to be completed in the next nine months. 

The suspended sentence means Skibinsky will not serve any time in prison but he will have a criminal record as a result of his conviction.