A Guelph police officer twice criminally convicted of assault while on duty will get another chance to keep his job because not enough consideration was given to his PTSD diagnosis at his professional penalty hearing.
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission has ordered a new penalty hearing for Const. Corey McArthur, who was earlier ordered to either quit or be fired from the Guelph Police Service (GPS).
That order, the just-released OCPC appeal ruling states, didn’t appropriately consider the “relevant factors” and left gaps in the hearing officer’s decision-making analysis.
The original disciplinary decision was handed down a year ago, following a years-long process related to McArthur’s attack on a teenager handcuffed to a bed at Guelph General Hospital in 2016 that was caught on video.
“This is not done lightly,” the ruling states of ordering a new penalty hearing. “We find the hearing officer erred in his use of prior judicial commentary and in his assessment of multiple dispositional factors, resulting in fundamental gaps and an unreasonable chain of analysis.
“As a result, the decision cannot stand.”
No date has been set for the new hearing.
The commission stopped short of reversing the order that McArthur quit or be fired, which is what the officer sought.
“In the specific context of this case, however, it would not be appropriate for the commission to substitute a penalty,” the appeal ruling states. “The appropriate penalty should be determined following a new hearing before a different hearing officer. This will allow a penalty decision to be made based on up-to-date medical information, along with any other relevant evidence.”
In arguing for McArthur to be fired, Guelph police service lawyers pointed to a pattern of behaviour from the officer.
What establishes that pattern, the panel heard, is McArthur’s previous 2008 conviction for assault while on duty, combined with the 2016 attack, and his employment record that shows he was cautioned about his use of force.
After pleading guilty, the constable received an absolute discharge for the 2008 incident – McArthur struck and illegally arrested a person who was critical of his behaviour during an incident in the downtown – and was subsequently docked 10 days pay as a result of the Police Service Act charges that followed.
During the tribunal hearing, McArthur’s attorney said he’s been undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and could serve as an example to others who have been diagnosed with the same.
"The commission agrees that the hearing officer failed to appropriately analyze whether if the appellant’s diagnosis and treatment for PTSD was a mitigating factor," the OCPC ruled.
"On the evidence before him, it was necessary for the hearing officer to at least consider the significant rehabilitation undertaken by the appellant over a five-year period to address his workplace-acquired mental health diagnosis and the expert opinion that he was largely rehabilitated," the ruling continues. "In the circumstances of this case, rehabilitation and the appellant’s opportunity to reform were significant relevant factors to the appropriate penalty.
"They warranted a far more fulsome analysis by the hearing officer. "
