A Chatham-Kent police officer found guilty of discreditable conduct has officially resigned from his job at Chatham-Kent police.
Police told CK News Today that Andrew Jaconelli tendered his resignation letter on Thursday. He had until Friday to render his decision. Jaconelli could have resigned or appealed the ruling of a Police Services Act disciplinary hearing on January 20, 2023 that he be fired or resign within seven days.
Jaconelli was found guilty of seven counts of discreditable conduct last summer. The discreditable conduct is related to complaints by a female coworker that she was sexually assaulted at a co-worker’s Christmas party in November 2017. During the same party, Jaconelli also held a dart against the neck of another female civilian co-worker and threw a dart at a fellow male officer.
Hearing Officer Greg Walton previously said he found it necessary to fire Jaconelli, saying that Jaconelli lacks professionalism and integrity, and keeping him employed would harm relations with the community and further hurt police reputation.
Chatham-Kent police Chief Gary Conn was looking for termination all along and hopes this brings closure to a very difficult case for officers and civilian staff. The Chief also hopes it sends a strong message that this type of behaviour won’t be tolerated.
Jaconelli was suspended with pay for four years. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of discreditable conduct in 2021 stemming from the incident in 2017. He disputed two other counts from a 2018 incident and was found not guilty.