A former Ottawa police officer, fired for stealing marijuana and cocaine from police evidence and from suspects he arrested, has lost a court appeal to get his job back.

Kevin Hall, 45, argued that his cocaine addiction was a disability and the Ottawa Police Service had a duty under the Ontario Human Rights Code to try to accommodate the disability.

A panel of three judges of the Ontario Superior Court's divisional court dismissed on Wednesday the appeal filed by Hall, a former constable, the police service said Thursday in a release.

He tried to overturn his dismissal, which was ordered by the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services on Dec. 4, 2006, seven months after he pleaded guilty to eight charges under the Police Services Act.

The charges related to accusations that he stole marijuana and cocaine from suspects he had arrested, bought marijuana and cocaine while on and off duty, and stole cocaine from police evidence.

The divisional court said Wednesday it was reasonable for the police commission to conclude that:

• Accommodating Hall would cause undue hardship for the police service.
• Hall's suggestions for measures such as random drug testing were not enough, given his gross misconduct.
• The public's trust is a valid consideration when assessing whether accommodating Hall would cause undue hardship for the police service.
• Hall would be at a high risk of relapsing into his addiction if he resumed police work.

Hall joined the Ottawa police in 1999. He was charged and suspended from duty in December 2005 after police noticed that small amounts of crack cocaine had gone missing before the drugs were processed as evidence.