Ottawa Canada - Co-worker looks forward to disgraced officer's return..

OFF THE WIRE

If an "admired" LEO acts like this to his own family, how does he treat a stranger in the line of duty?

An Ottawa Police staff sergeant told probation officers doing a pre-sentencing report on a constable who pleaded guilty to severely whipping his young children that he was looking forward to the officer's return to work, the Citizen has learned.
In the report, which the court has kept secret, the staff sergeant described the disgraced officer as a level-headed officer who treated people appropriately. The staff sergeant offered this favourable performance evaluation after the constable pleaded guilty in December to beating his children so bad that one of them couldn't walk afterward.
Another child he beat with a belt was still in diapers.
The pre-sentencing report played a role in persuading Judge Gilles Renaud to grant the convicted child abuser leniency.
In fact, in a Feb. 18 court ruling, Judge Renaud decided to give the police officer a pass and granted him a discharge in a deal that spared the admitted him a criminal conviction even though he had pleaded guilty.
Judge Renaud said registering a conviction would go against "public interest by depriving the (Ottawa) community of the skills and talents of (the) police officer."
The judge has also banned the Citizen from identifying the officer, but said his position and nationality can be reported.
The judge also declined a Citizen request to release the pre-sentencing report even though it was entered as an exhibit in open court. In a letter to the judge, assistant Crown attorney, Dan Brisebois, objected to the Citizen request to release the pre-sentencing report, noting that there was a publication ban on the officer's name.
Though the disgraced officer's staff sergeant said he was looking forward to his return to the platoon, Chief Vern White has a much different take on the case.
On Friday, which marked the end of the 30-day appeal period, the police chief's office launched an internal affairs file on the officer, and will be charging him with discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.

The police chief's office is now trying to get all court records about the child abuse case.
It is not known if the judge will release the pre-sentencing report to the police chief or his executive officer.
The constable's child abuse case came to light after his wife, now seeking a divorce, called police about her husband's corporal punishment.
She called police after seeing bruises on two of her children.
The prosecutor in the case called for jail time, saying the public needed to know that if you abuse children you risk going to prison.
The police officer's wife told court that when she reported him, her "social network disappeared as I became increasingly isolated."
"I lost our mutual friends, his police co-workers ... and support from his family. I felt misunderstood on so many levels by so many people.
"They were angry at me for all that I had brought upon their friend ... After going through all of this, I have a greater awareness of the lack of support to spouses."
Moments before the court ruling on Feb. 18, the police officer's wife spoke the Citizen outside a church.
"I came here to pray," she told the Citizen.

The judge also prohibited the officer from physically punishing his children for two years.
Judge Renaud acknowledged the sentence was lenient but sided with the officer's wife who pleaded for mercy in her victim-impact statement. She feared her four children would lose financial security if their father lost his job.
Dan Brisebois, the prosecutor, argued for a conviction, saying the public needed to be sent a message that "when you abuse a child, you seriously run the risk of going to jail."

But the judge disagreed and cited past decisions that favoured leniency.
The officer, whose identity is shielded by a publication ban, used to whip his children to correct their behaviour.
The "large red whip marks" left on the toddler is what launched the criminal investigation.
In one scene of child abuse docu-mented at sentencing, the officer ordered one of his young boys into the basement after he had kicked his little sister.
The officer then headed downstairs with a leather belt and whipped his young son so severely that the little boy that he could not physically walk up the stairs after the assault.
The officer was originally charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm and two counts of assault with a weapon. He pleaded guilty to assault days before Christmas in a deal that had the more serious charges dropped.

It was his ex-wife who called police about the abuse. She told court in a statement that she "never thought it would have resulted with criminal charges." She wanted only to improve the lives of her children.
It should be noted that the Ottawa police officer has taken parenting and anger management courses across the last year.
In her victim-impact statement, the officer's ex-wife said: "If he is the changed person he claims to be then I cannot see any problems in the future."
In an agreed statement of facts filed in court, his ex-wife always thought the officer's form of punishment was "too severe for children but was unable to stop (the officer).
The officer declined to speak at the hearing.
Outside of the courtroom, he was anything but quiet and could be seen laughing moments after the ruling.
It should be noted that, according to his defence lawyer, the officer has expressed remorse.
"He has come to understand how criminal his behaviour was," Bill Carroll told court.
The court also heard that corporal punishment is acceptable in the officer's homeland though no evidence was entered to establish the statements.
Either way, the prosecutor told the court that the officer's form of punishment exceeded the Canadian standard. The prosecutor also reminded the court that "agents of the state" should obey its laws.
The officer's conditional discharge requires him to obey the law, and as Judge Renaud said, to "continue to prove himself" for the next two years. If he does so, the officer will not have a criminal record.
The officer is suspended with pay and the Ottawa Police's internal-affairs unit is filing charges under the Police Services Act.
Gary Dimmock can be reached at gdimmock@ottawacitizen.com.
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/worker+looks+forward+disgraced+officer+return/4472997/story.html#ixzz1HFQfYcz9