Ottawa cop guilty of discreditable conduct after fighting with teens while off duty

An Ottawa Police Services officer has been found guilty of discreditable conduct for getting into a verbal and physical altercation with a group of teenagers while he was off-duty and on medical leave, violating one teen’s Charter rights in the process.

According to a recent decision from retired Superintendent Chris Renwick, Const. Pierre Fournier and his identical twin brother were going hunting near Greely in April 2021 when they saw a group of people on dirt bikes in a gravel pit. Fournier was both a resident of the area and also regularly worked nearby, and was aware of the “years-long issue” of local youth driving on private property, the decision says.

Article content

Article content

Fournier said he was frustrated by the “recurring disrespectful and undisciplined actions of the youths and attitudes of the parents who enabled the activity.”

When Fournier approached the group of teens, ages 15 to 16, all but one of the youths rode away, two of them giving Fournier the finger.

The decision says Fournier put his hands on the shoulder or bike of the remaining 15-year-old, whose identity is protected via a publication ban, and said “you’re not going anywhere.” That violated the teen’s Charter rights, Renwick determined.

Prosecutor Vanessa Stewart said Fournier used “profanity and mocking words,” which some in the group interpreted as racial slurs.

Renwick says Fournier did not initially identify himself as a police officer, but he did once “the verbal altercation escalated.” His identical twin brother went so far as to retrieve Fournier’s badge from his truck, but Fournier told him not to show it to the teens.

The situation escalated into a physical altercation, the decision reads, and police were called by both Fournier and one of the youths. Renwick said there are inconsistencies about whether the fight involved punching or shoving, but regardless, the force’s reputation was damaged by Fournier’s actions.

Article content

Renwick’s decision says Fournier “became the subject of harsh and, in some respects, inaccurate social media attention,” but that alone does not constitute discreditable conduct. Rather, the “reputational damage was in the way Cst. Fournier conducted himself in an unprofessional manner in the interaction with 15- and 16-year-old youths,” the decision reads.

The teens were “in clear violation of a provincial statute and were being evasive and defiant to his imposed authority,” Renwick continues, but as Fournier was off-duty and on extended medical leave, he should have considered himself a witness.

“At the very least, once engaged and seeing the interaction deteriorating, he should have de-escalated or disengaged altogether,” Renwick says, adding the Ottawa Police Service “must retain the ability to demand that their employees conform to the standards of respect and service that the community expects and to take disciplinary action when police officer’s conduct falls short of that standard.”

The charge of discreditable conduct of the Police Services Act was brought forward in July 2023, and sentencing on the matter will take place at a later date.

Article content

In an Oct. 16 conference ahead of the hearing, Fournier objected to the teens appearing as witnesses via video, saying they could be coordinating behind the scenes. He also said the teens had “lied through their teeth” in written statements.

“It’s just the fact that all these statements are errors,” he said.

Renwick ultimately allowed the teens to contribute by video conference, saying he had a “duty to insulate youths from any potentially aggressive or abusive interactions with Cst. Fournier which, in my opinion, could very well become a live issue in this hearing.”

Fournier also initially objected to the teens’ names being withheld via a publication ban, as his own name “had been dragged through the mud,” but Renwick said the ages of the youths at the time of the incident meant their identities should be protected.

Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.

Article content