An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) constable in Renfrew County has been demoted for three years for slapping an officer’s buttock while she was on duty at an OPP charity golf tournament two years ago.

Const. Mark Condron was found guilty in November of one count of misconduct under the Community Safety and Policing Act. The guilty finding was for misconduct contrary to Section 30 of the CSPA by engaging in workplace harassment, including workplace sexual harassment.

According to the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission decision, released in November, an acting sergeant was hosting a charity golf tournament that she had organized at the Renfrew golf course on June 21, 2024.“(The acting sergeant) was asked to participate in a live interview with a local radio station to discuss the event and the money raised for charity,” said the November report outlining the allegations and the decision.“Const. Mark Condron walked by (the acting sergeant) and slapped her across her buttocks with an open hand. Const. Condron continued walking and did not say anything at the time.”The acting sergeant described being “embarrassed and humiliated by Const. Condron’s actions,” according to the report. 

While Condron pleaded not guilty, adjudicator Chris Renwick found him guilty of one count of misconduct.

According to the disposition, this was Condron’s third misconduct finding in the last three years. The OPP prosecution asked the hearing officer to dismiss the officer, with the lawyer saying Const. Condron “is simply not fit to continue as an OPP officer,” according to the report. 

In April, Renwick, a retired Ottawa police superintendent, released the sentencing decision for the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission. Renwick ruled Condron will be demoted to** **third-class constable for 18 months and will be demoted to second-class constable for 18 months before being reinstated to first-class constable. 

“(The acting sergeant) was a relatively junior member of the OPP with seven years of service when she found herself in an acting sergeant role, tasked with the planning and execution of an OPP charity golf tournament in the community of Renfrew,” Renwick wrote. 

“Her superiors, colleagues, family members, and members of the community were all present and it has been found that Const. Condron’s unprovoked act of slapping her buttock in this public setting was demeaning, most embarrassing, and caused her to question what she had previously done or portrayed to make Const. Condron think it was OK to demean her in this way.”

According to the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission report, Condron was demoted for 18 months following a careless driving incident in July 2023. He pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct. 

In 2023, he pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct for an incident that occurred in Sioux Lookout in November 2021 and forfeited 50 hours of pay.

“Removing the significant aggravating factor of Const. Condron’s previous two occasions of misconduct and just focusing on the misconduct before this tribunal, I am not convinced that facts present are so egregious as to determine there exists a fundamental character flaw that cannot be corrected and that he, although close, has not yet demonstrated that his usefulness as a police officer is spent,” Renwick wrote in the sentencing report.

“If Const. Condron continues with his 18 months of sobriety and continues with his PTSD therapy, then the potential to rehabilitate himself remains. The potential remains for him to return as a contributing member of the OPP, and to regain some of the lost trust of both his employer and his colleagues.”

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/eastern-ontario-opp-officer-demoted-36-months-for-slapping-officers-buttock-at-golf-course/

Eastern Ontario OPP officer demoted 36 months for slapping officer’s buttock at golf event