Chasing smugglers and negotiating with outlaw bikers: retired undercover OPP officer pens memoir

Retired Sudbury undercover cop pens memoir (2020) A retired OPP officer from Sudbury has released a memoir, detailing his experiences from a rookie in Chapleau to serving in Sudbury.

A retired Ontario Provincial Police officer from Sudbury has released a memoir of his career.

It’s titled ‘1% Hatred’ and details Dan Rocheleau’s experiences, starting as a rookie in Chapleau, to serving in Sudbury and being involved in major undercover drug investigations in Ontario and Quebec.

“There is a lot of humour in it and there is a lot of the undercover work that I did in two provinces,” said Rocheleau. “And dealing with everything from serial killers to outlaw bikers to traditional organized crime.”

Rocheleau said he wrote the book when COVID forced people to stay home. He hopes it helps readers see the different aspects of policing.

“When you are working in organized crime like that, it changes hourly almost it feels,” he said. “It’s not like working in uniform where you have a schedule and pattern to go through. When you work in organized crime it’s completely different.”

The book details the officer’s experiences negotiating drug deals with outlaw bikers, chasing drug smugglers by boat on the St. Lawrence River and being shot at.

“It’s bizarre cause now it sort of flashes back up where for 30 years I never thought of it,” Rocheleau said. “I just walked away from very bad scenes and just forgot about them.”

The officer said he now suffers from PTSD and wants to share a message.

“There is help out there, you don’t have to be Superman, you can ask for help,” said Rocheleau.

He also hopes to give back to the community. A percentage of the proceeds from the book will be donated to NEO Kids and The Hospital for Sick Children.