Friends of a Guelph police officer twice convicted of assault while on the job, including against a teenager handcuffed to a hospital bed, believe he should be allowed to return to community policing.
Two people who have come to know Const. Corey McArthur in recent years, though one had previous interactions with him as well, testified to his “calm” and “caring” demeanour during a professional misconduct sentencing re-hearing on Monday.
“I would welcome Corey back, for sure,” stated Det.-Const. Mary-Ellen McEwen, who worked the same shift as McArthur, but in different zones, for several years when both were early in their policing careers. “There was never a time he was not professional.”
Under questioning from Guelph Police Service (GPS) lawyer Jessica Barrow, McEwen acknowledged she’d never seen McArthur’s use of force while making an arrest or attended a “highly volatile” call with him.
McEwen testified she became friends with McArthur and his current wife when their daughters played hockey together in 2020, often sitting with him at games. At that time, and still to this day, McArthur was on paid leave from policing.
“Corey is not aggressive at all,” she said of those games, which she noted sometimes “get heated” in the stands. “I believe he would (add value to Gueph police if turned to duty).”
Asked by defence lawyer Joseph Markson if it alters her opinion of McArthur knowing multiple judges – two from assault proceedings and one family law judge – were critical of his behaviour, McEwen said it does not.
Hearing officer Morris Elbers, a retired OPP superintendent, also heard from Bryan Stevens, who has known McArthur since 2019. Stevens, a retired paramedic, runs a wellness centre for first responders and military personnel in Kitchener known as Frontline Forward.
“I’ve come to know him as a caring and giving person,” said Stevens, who said McArthur regularly helps out around the centre, including during peer support groups. “I hold Corey in high regard.”
Stevens never came across McArthur in his previous capacity as a paramedic for Ornge.
Similarly asked by Markson if the “critical commentary” from judges impacts his impression of McArthur, Stevens responded, “It doesn’t change my opinion of Corey in any way, shape or form. … He’s remorseful for his actions.”
McArthur pleaded guilty to criminal assault in 2018 in relation to the 2016 hospital attack, as well as guilty to professional misconduct under the Police Service Act in 2020, resulting in the sentencing hearing underway now.
As a result of the criminal offence, McArthur was given a conditional discharge and three years of probation. He was further ordered to perform 240 hours of community service.
Following a 2010 trial, he was found guilty of assault in relation to his actions during a downtown arrest in 2008. McArthur received an absolute discharge for that offence and was subsequently docked 10 days pay as a result of the Police Service Act charges that followed.
During a previous sentencing hearing for the hospital attack, McArthur was ordered to quit within seven days or be fired. He successfully appealed to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, which determined not enough weight was given to the officer’s PTSD and ordered a new sentencing hearing to be held.
That re-hearing began with two days in July, followed by testimony on Sept. 27 and Oct. 1.
The sentencing hearing is expected to resume on Oct. 28 and continue Oct. 29. That’s when the lawyer for Guelph Police Service will make its case for McArthur to be removed from the department.
However, during Monday’s hearing Markson alluded to the potential to recall defence witness Dr. Jonathan Rootenbertg ahead of those dates. No reason for the psychiatrist’s return to the stand was publicly provided.
“I have not closed the defence’s case,” he noted.
Inspectors Scott Green and Cate Welsh, both since retired, previously testified on McArthur’s behalf during the first sentencing hearing, arguing he should be allowed to return to frontline duties, but are not expected to testify during the re-hearing.
Neither McEwen nor Stevens were involved in the first sentencing hearing.
