An OPP officer is suing Guelph police, its chief and several officers, as well as the Canadian Mental Health Association for $3 million alleging abuse of public office, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, negligent misrepresentation and more.
“This incident has had a lasting and traumatizing impact on (the officer) and has caused a significant regression in his mental health,” the lawsuit states, noting that while he’s still employed by the OPP, the officer has been on medical leave since 2013. “As a direct result of the actions of the defendants, he has suffered a loss of income, earning capacity, and competitive advantage. The plaintiff had hoped to return to his career in policing and will now be unable to do so.”
None of the allegations have been proven in court and no statements of defence have been filed at this time.
Representatives for Guelph police and CMHA Waterloo Wellington declined to comment, though police spokesperson Scott Tracey indicated a statement of defence will be filed on the department's behalf.
The lawyer representing the plaintiff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a lawsuit filed Dec. 8 in Guelph, a 51-year-old OPP officer and Guelph resident claims Guelph police tactical officers involuntarily took him to hospital for a mental health assessment based on “untrue, inaccurate or misleading” information and improperly seized his legally-owned firearms in 2021 – all stemming from what’s described as a “friendly” conversation he had with paramedics in a restaurant parking lot several weeks prior.
The man claims he approached two paramedics in December of 2020 to ask about their experience with a blood-clotting product he’d recently bought online, as well as exchange “pleasantries.”
As explained in the court document, more than two weeks later, in January of 2021, two uniformed Guelph police officers knocked on the man’s apartment door to discuss the interaction and inquire about his registered guns.
They left “seemingly satisfied” after asking numerous questions of the man and his two teenage daughters, as well as being shown the man’s gun safe.
As he was leaving his apartment building several days later, the man reported hearing someone yell at him to drop what was in his hands.
“A bright light came on and he could hear the fast-approaching sound of footsteps behind him. He initially thought he was about to be jumped or assaulted by a gang of thugs – perhaps one of the many criminals (he) had put in jail over his career,” the lawsuit states. “He was terrified and considered running. Instead, he dropped to his knees and put his empty hands over his head.
“(He) was not read his rights, nor was he read a caution. The officers dragged (him) back inside while he was still handcuffed.”
Once inside, officers demanded the access code to his gun safe and seized his firearms.
After removing the man’s guns, police took him to Guelph General Hospital where his mental health was assessed by a doctor under what’s known as a “Form 2” – an order issued by a justice of the peace based on sworn information, typically as a result of concerns an individual poses a threat to themselves or the community.
A doctor determined the man to be “of sound mental health,” the lawsuit states, and he was released without charges.
In the lawsuit, the man is described as a sustenance hunter who routinely provides meat to elders in his community who are no longer able to hunt.
During a 2022 hearing regarding the man’s gun licence, which was suspended when police seized his weapons, the lawsuit claims it was learned a CMHA WW crisis response coordinator who swore to the Form 2 information “confirmed” she’d never met the man, that she’d been “encouraged” by police to swear to the information and “she attempted to access confidential information about (the man’s) medical history without his authority in order to manufacture grounds to support the Form 2.”
Immediately after the worker’s testimony, the Crown “withdrew” and ended the hearing, the lawsuit claims.
“The plaintiffs state that the prosecution of the plaintiff was carried out maliciously, without reasonable and probable grounds, and for the unlawful purpose of causing injury and damages to the plaintiff. The plaintiff states that this misconduct by the defendant police officers was deliberate and actuated by malice.”
