Police officer's appeal of discreditable conduct findings and demotion for off-duty domestic assault dismissed.
The appellant police officer appealed a Hearing Officer's decision finding him guilty of two counts of discreditable conduct and imposing a penalty of demotion from First Class to Fourth Class Constable.
The charges arose from an off-duty domestic altercation where the appellant pushed his estranged wife.
The Commission dismissed the appeal, finding that the Hearing Officer reasonably admitted and weighed hearsay evidence, made reasonable findings of fact supported by the appellant's own admissions, and appropriately applied the dispositional factors.
The penalty of demotion, while severe, was found to be within the reasonable range of outcomes.
Police officer's appeal of insubordination finding for unauthorized CPIC query dismissed.
The appellant police officer appealed a finding of insubordination for conducting an unauthorized CPIC query on his wife's vehicle.
He argued the query was part of an investigation into civilian dispatchers and that the Hearing Officer denied him procedural fairness by refusing disclosure of notes from a 2015 conversation regarding a similar complaint.
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission dismissed the appeal, finding no breach of procedural fairness as the 2015 notes were irrelevant to whether the 2018 query was for official police business.
The Commission upheld the Hearing Officer's conclusion that the query was for personal reasons as reasonable.
Police officer's appeal of misconduct findings and dismissal for deceit and neglect of duty dismissed.
The appellant police officer appealed findings of guilt for discreditable conduct, neglect of duty, and deceit, as well as the penalty of dismissal.
The misconduct involved operating a police vehicle with an expired licence, failing to immediately report a collision, having the vehicle inspected by an unauthorized mechanic outside his jurisdiction, and deceiving his supervisor about the incident.
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission dismissed the appeal, finding the Hearing Officer's conclusions reasonable and the penalty of dismissal proportionate, particularly given the appellant's recent prior discipline resulting in a demotion.
Finding of discreditable conduct for police officer's use of profanity revoked due to failure to apply objective test.
The appellant police officer appealed a finding of Discreditable Conduct under the Police Services Act Code of Conduct for using profanity towards a member of the public during a tense investigation.
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission found that the Hearing Officer erred by equating the use of profanity with Discreditable Conduct absolutely, without applying the required objective test.
The Commission held that an objective test, viewed from the perspective of a reasonable person in the community and considering the context of the situation, must be applied.
Given the tense and potentially dangerous circumstances of the call, the Commission concluded the single use of an expletive did not meet the objective test for Discreditable Conduct and revoked the finding.
Reconsideration request denied; excluded video evidence and expert testimony rulings did not constitute significant errors.
The applicant requested a reconsideration of a decision finding he did not suffer a catastrophic impairment under the Glasgow Coma Scale following a motor vehicle accident.
The applicant argued the Tribunal erred by excluding video footage of a paramedic at the scene and by allowing the respondent's expert neurologist to give opinion evidence outside his report without permitting the applicant to recall his own expert.
The adjudicator dismissed the request, finding the video footage had limited probative value and would not have changed the result given the conflicting medical reports.
The adjudicator also found no error in allowing the respondent's expert to comment on inconsistencies in the reports, noting the applicant failed to demonstrate the evidence was false or misleading.