Harry Bakema, the former chief of the East St. Paul police force, pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.
He is facing charges following the bungled police investigation into the death of Crystal Taman.
Taman was killed in 2005 when her convertible was rear-ended by off-duty Winnipeg police officer Derek Harvey Zenk.
Harvey Zenk pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. He was originally charged with impaired driving but those charges were dropped.
An inquiry into the handling of the case was held in 2008.
Now, Bakema is on trial on charges of perjury, breach of trust and obstruction of justice. In total, he faces charges for six counts.
In court on Monday, he pleaded not guilty to all six.
Insp. Jim Poole from Winnipeg police previously worked in the service's professional standards unit.
He told court Monday that Bakema knew East St. Paul police had limited resources in 2005 and said that he was more than happy to have the professional standards unit help investigate, in particular with examining the drinking history leading up to the crash.
Poole also told court in the days that followed the crash that Bakema spoke about how upset he was that Harvey Zenk's name was mentioned in the media.
The trial is set to continue in Winnipeg.
- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley
