OPP officer guilty of sexual assault fired after years on paid leave

An Ontario Provincial Police officer convicted of multiple offenses has been fired after years of paid leave.

Former Const. Jason Redmond from the province of Leeds OPP The detachment was terminated on Thursday after he withdrew his appeal to overturn a dismissal order due to be heard this month, the force said on Friday.

“This person’s corrupt, disgraceful and criminal conduct is inconsistent with the exemplary conduct of OPP members and our values ​​to serve the people of Ontario with pride, professionalism and honor,” Commissioner Thomas Carrique said in a written statement.

The Brockville Recorder and Times previously reported that Redmond, who was suspended, had been on paid leave since 2015 as a result of a drug trafficking investigation, for which he was convicted in 2018. In February, he was found guilty of assault.

A judge found that Redmond raped a woman while she was unconscious and took video of the assault on his phone to “teach her a lesson,” the paper reported.

A bailiff ordered the agent to be fired from the OPPbut the officer appealed, allowing him to collect his salary after all.

The case raised questions among provincial lawmakers earlier this year because they had yet to pass a revision of a police law that would allow suspended officers to receive pay even if charged or convicted of a serious crime, unless convicted. to prison. Redmond was sentenced to probation, not jail time, for his initial drug trafficking conviction.

Prime Minister Doug Ford’s government introduced the Community Safety and Policing Act in 2019, allowing a police chief to suspend officers without pay if charged with a serious crime, as well as making other changes to police oversight.

Ontario is the only province where chiefs cannot withdraw the pay of suspended officers, which collect millions of dollars each year. But the 2019 law is still not in effect because the government has not yet finished drafting all the associated rules, such as what constitutes a “serious crime” under the new rules. It hopes to have the law come into force in late 2023 or early 2024.

Carrique said OPP has been trying to get the former cop fired since his first conviction.

“The OPP recognizes that this has been a long and difficult journey for the victims in this case,” he said, also noting the impact of the situation on OPP members.