Jason Redmond was on the provincial payroll in 2015 when he trafficked medical marijuana and forged a criminal document.
Taxpayers were still paying his salary two years later when he sexually assaulted an unconscious woman and made a video of it to “teach her a lesson” about excessive drinking.
Redmond is not a civilian. He is Const. Jason Redmond, of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Late last year, a police misconduct tribunal gave Redmond seven days to resign or be dismissed as a consequence of the crimes he committed in 2015. “He willingly committed criminal offences, and there is nothing to suggest he would not do so again,” OPP Supt. Melissa Barron, who adjudicated the tribunal, wrote in her judgment.
That’s a damning indictment of character for any individual, let alone a police officer who took an oath to preserve the peace and prevent offences.
In February, he was convicted of sexually assaulting the unconscious woman, the Brockville Recorder and Times reported.
Redmond has appealed his dismissal and continues to collect a hefty salary, which amounted to $121,000 in 2021. And he faces 17 additional charges, including assault, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in connection with other alleged crimes.
The wheels of justice turn slowly but slower still it seems when it comes to getting rotten cops off the payroll.
But cops like Redmond are gaming a broken system that tilts in favour of scofflaw cops, rewarding them with a paycheque long after they should be off the payroll.
No wonder, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police has been seeking greater latitude in dealing with officers charged with serious offences. The organization has long been advocating for changes, including a call in 2007 that would allow officers charged with serious criminal offences to be suspended without pay. That call has been echoed by municipal politicians.
Keeping police officers on the payroll in such circumstances makes a mockery of the disciplinary process, undermines public confidence in police and costs taxpayers a pretty penny. That is recognized by Kerzner, who declared that “no one convicted of a serious and disturbing crime like this should be receiving a taxpayer-funded salary.”
He’ll find that plenty of people agree. Here’s his chance to fix it.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editori ... -cops.html
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/0 ... icted.html