Winston H. Tinglin

Two police officers appealed findings of misconduct and penalties arising from the unlawful arrest of a civilian during the G20 Summit.

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission upheld the misconduct findings, concluding the Hearing Officer reasonably assessed credibility and correctly found the officers lacked reasonable grounds for the arrest and used excessive force.

However, the Commission found the Hearing Officer erred in principle by treating one officer's untruthful testimony as an aggravating factor for penalty.

The penalty for the arresting officer was reduced from a two-month to a one-month demotion.

The appellant police officer appealed the penalty of a 20-month demotion from Sergeant to First Class Constable imposed following his guilty plea to discreditable conduct.

The misconduct involved off-duty impaired driving and an altercation with a witness.

The appellant argued the Hearing Officer erred by considering facts not in evidence, giving insufficient weight to mitigating factors, misdirecting himself on internal policies, and improperly differentiating joint submission cases.

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission found no clear error in principle and confirmed the penalty, emphasizing the seriousness of drinking and driving by police officers.

The appellant police officer appealed a Hearing Officer's finding of discreditable conduct and the resulting penalty of forfeiture of eight days' pay.

The misconduct involved the officer repeatedly accepting free meals from a restaurant while in uniform.

The Commission applied a reasonableness standard of review to the finding of misconduct and the penalty.

The Commission found that the Hearing Officer's decision was justified, transparent, and intelligible, and that the penalty was within the appropriate range given the officer's conduct and disciplinary history.

The appeal was dismissed and the decision confirmed.