TU THANH HA
Orillia, Ont. — Globe and Mail Update Published on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 10:51AM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 11:12AM EST
The Ontario Provincial Police has withdrawn controversial disciplinary charges against two of its officers and settled with them.
The two officers alleged they were prosecuted because the head of the OPP, Commissioner Julian Fantino, held a grudge against one of them.
The settlement was reached just before the head of the provincial police had to go back to the witness box at a hearing at OPP headquarters in Orillia, Ont.
“The matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the prosecution and the subject officers outside the disciplinary process,” prosecutor Brian Gover told the hearing's adjudicator, retired justice Leonard Montgomery.
“The prosecution is now withdrawing the charges against the two subject officers.”
Mr. Montgomery said the settlement was “in the best interests of the officers and the administration of justice.”
If the charges hadn't been dropped, Commissioner Fantino would have had to continue facing questions from defence lawyer Julian Falconer, who alleges that some top members of the force were victims of their boss' strong-armed tactics.
The proceedings – disciplinary charges against two OPP internal affairs officers, Superintendent Ken MacDonald and Inspector Alison Jevons – have cost more than half a million dollars in public money.
The case was to resume this morning, 13 months after Commissioner Fantino interrupted his cross-examination with an unsuccessful bid to get the courts to dismiss Mr. Montgomery.
According to previous testimony by an OPP officer, Commissioner Fantino incorrectly suspected Superintendent MacDonald was behind a damaging leak of information to local municipal politicians in Caledon, Ont.
It was because of that incident, and because the OPP boss was trying to placate his force's police union, that Commissioner Fantino initiated charges against Superintendent MacDonald and Insp. Jevons in an unrelated matter in 2007, according to court motions filed by Mr. Falconer.
“We may have the ammo to take down MacDonald,” said a 2006 union e-mail filed with the tribunal. “We may get two for the price of one.”
In his motions, Mr. Falconer also alleged that a high-ranking OPP member, Chief Superintendent Bill Grodzinski was threatened with reassignment to North Bay, after he testified that he heard the commissioner make menacing remarks about Supt. MacDonald in 2007.
“Are you going to execute the disloyal one or do you want me to,” Commissioner Fantino said, according to Chief Supt. Grodzinski.
Another defence witness, now-retired OPP Inspector Keith Messham, was the object of a criminal investigation after he inadvertently disclosed a privileged document during the tribunal proceedings.
A lawyer for Mr. Messham alleged in court filings that the former inspector was being punished for testifying on behalf of Superintendent MacDonald and Insp. Jevons.
When he last appeared as a witness, 13 months ago, Commissioner Fantino shrugged off as “hysterical nonsense” the allegations that he was waging a vendetta against senior officers.
But he boasted in his testimony that, had he been vindictive, he could have hurt the career of one of his subordinates “with the stroke of a pen.”