"This behaviour is unacceptable for any police officer and cannot be tolerated.”
BROCKVILLE — The commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police says that the actions of a Leeds County officer convicted of sexual assault are “unacceptable” and that his agency has been trying to fire him for years.
In response to a Postmedia story that OPP officer Jason Redmond was convicted in February of sexual assault for raping an unconscious woman and filming it on his phone to “teach her a lesson,” the OPP said it had been trying to dismiss him from the force since he was convicted of drug trafficking in 2018.
This process has been met with a series of delays and appeals, the OPP said Friday, and the matter remains before an adjudicator.
Redmond remains on paid leave.
“I know this is troubling for not only members of the public, but for our own members who always seek to serve the people of Ontario with pride, professionalism and honour,” OPP commissioner Thomas Carrique said in a media release late Thursday night.
“The OPP has been seeking dismissal of this individual since his initial conviction. This behaviour is unacceptable for any police officer and cannot be tolerated.”
In February, a judge in Brockville found Redmond guilty of sexual assault for raping an unconscious woman in 2017 and making a video of it on his phone to “prove” she had a drinking problem and to “teach her a lesson” about how irresponsible she was when consuming alcohol.
He pleaded not guilty and argued the victim’s inability to remember was not proof that she did not consent. The judge did not agree and, after a two-day trial, found Redmond guilty.
He will be sentenced on April 14.
Years before this conviction, Redmond was involved in another case involving illegal activity among OPP officers.
This was in connection with Project Arrowtown, a situation where police “conducted an 18-month investigation into criminal activity by police officers in Leeds County,” and eventually charged Redmond and other officers with illegal drug activity.
Redmond was charged in November 2015 and convicted in October 2018 for trafficking a controlled substance and using a forged document.
He has been suspended with pay by the OPP since those charges were laid in 2015.
After that conviction, Carrique said, the OPP Professional Standards Unit laid charges under the Police Services Act to have Redmond dismissed.
This was initiated on Nov. 14, 2018, but hearings were “delayed multiple times,” OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson said Friday. The process continued until November 2022, when the adjudicator sided with the OPP and ordered that Redmond be dismissed.
Citing privacy concerns, Dickson wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the delays.
Redmond immediately appealed his dismissal, further lengthening the years-long process.
That appeal remains before the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, with the next hearing scheduled for June 15.
While in the process of trying to dismiss Redmond for his 2018 conviction, Carrique said, the OPP began another investigation in August 2021 “related to allegations regarding numerous violent offences stemming from 2017.”
Redmond was arrested and charged with sexual assault on Oct. 15, 2021.
The OPP did not inform the public of the charge, though, which Carrique said was an effort to protect the victim’s identity.
The Police Services Act says an officer charged with a criminal offence can only be suspended with pay. In order for someone to be suspended without pay, the person must be convicted and sentenced to a term of incarceration.
Redmond was not given jail time for his 2018 conviction; instead, he was placed on probation for one year by the court.
This enabled him to collect his salary during the OPP’s efforts to remove him from the force, a process governed by the Police Services Act.
But changes are coming to that act, according to the Office of the Solicitor General, particularly with regard to suspensions and collecting salary while charged with serious crimes.
Hunter Kell, a spokesperson for the Office of the Solicitor General, said an overhaul to the controversial act was on its way.
“No one convicted of serious and disturbing crimes like these should be receiving a taxpayer-funded salary,” Kell said Friday.
“Recognizing that, we brought forward legislation, the Community Safety and Policing Act, that once in force will allow a chief of police to suspend an officer without pay if the officer is charged with a serious offence.”
The new act would replace the Police Services Act, and Kell confirmed the ministry’s target was to bring it into force between fall 2023 and early 2024.
Carrique confirmed Redmond was still facing “17 additional serious criminal charges including assault, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and others in connection with multiple victims.”
He asked that the public not judge all police officers for the actions of one.
“Daily, in service to the public, OPP officers exhibit and exercise integrity, honesty and courage. We encourage everyone to recognize this and to not judge all officers by the actions of this specific individual.”
sbedford@postmedia.com