Chatham-Kent's chief of police wants the public to know it can continue to trust his officers despite the recent legal troubles with three of them.
Chief Gary Conn wants to assure the public that all of his officers are held accountable for their actions. That's why he called outside police services to investigate his own as soon as he found out about the allegations because he wanted to determine if they were valid and wanted the investigations to be impartial.
"We must maintain public trust and confidence. This is paramount in our profession," Conn said. "The public expects police to be held to a higher standard, as they should."
Chief Conn said the idea is to correct any inappropriate behaviour and send a strong message to the rank and file that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.
"If one chooses to conduct themselves in a similar fashion, then you know what this will be the consequence," Chief Conn added.
Constable Darcy Lunn has been sentenced to three years of probation for assaulting his ex-wife in 2015 and is facing a Police Services Act disciplinary hearing to find out if he'll keep his job, get demoted, or get another form of punishment. He has been suspended with pay while a date for the hearing is set.
Constable Cristelle Vanden Enden was charged with fraud earlier this month and has a court date scheduled in September. She is on leave for reasons that haven't been disclosed.
Constable Andrew Jaconelli was charged with sexual assault and assault with a weapon and has been suspended with pay since December 2018. His case is still going through the courts and his next court date is set for June 8.
The chief said there are approximately 250 municipal police officers and police support staff in Chatham-Kent and he hopes the actions of a few don't detract or diminish from the "stellar" work they are doing across the community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"As regrettable as these circumstances may be, they are necessary," the chief said. "We shall get through this."
Chief Conn said the goal is to have none of his officers facing charges or getting disciplined and hopes there are no more legal troubles for his police service down the road.
"Any time an officer has to deal with disciplinary issues as a result of offences under any statute, it's an unfortunate and disheartening thing," added the chief.