The city’s police chief doesn’t believe the reputation of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service has taken a hit after the high-profile departures of two officers.
As previously reported by SooToday, Sgt. Marc Dubie stepped down from his position in early January amid allegations of sexual assault. A month prior to that, the police service fired Const. Craig Johnson years after he was found to have fabricated a police report against a neighbour.
Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Chief Hugh Stevenson says although he is “always concerned” when allegations against his officers surface, the service deals with those matters accordingly.
“The public needs to take confidence in the fact that we are very transparent and accountable,” Stevenson told reporters following Tuesday’s scheduled meeting of the police services board.
“We immediately have external agencies investigate so there’s no internal bias in the investigations.”
The police chief points to investigations by external agencies, like the Special Investigations Unit and the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency — an independent civilian agency formerly known as the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) — which led to criminal charges being filed against both Dubie and Johnson in court.
While a criminal charge of mischief against Johnson was stayed by the courts, a hearing by the OIPRD determined that he fabricated a traffic complaint. A subsequent appeal of that decision was denied, and Johnson was booted from the department.
“We let the evidence speak — and if there is wrongdoing, it is dealt with severely,” Stevenson said.
Sault Police, meanwhile, did not proceed with a Jan. 6 internal disciplinary hearing against Dubie after two criminal counts of sexual assault were dropped and the officer resigned from the department.
A four-day criminal trial was scheduled to begin on Feb. 4, but will not proceed now that the charges have been dropped.
“I think it’s incredibly important that police services maintain the transparency with the public," Stevenson told reporters when SooToday asked about the recent departures.
"All institutions have individuals that go offside and cause concern. Is it more important in policing? Yes, it is — and we go through rigid testing to become a police officer.
“If you cross that line, we will investigate and hold you accountable, and the results of that you’ve seen in certainly two situations.”
A disciplinary hearing for another officer — Const. Jarrott Forsyth, who is facing three allegations of discreditable misconduct under the Police Services Act — is ongoing.
In January 2024, Forsyth pleaded guilty to assaulting and threatening to kill a woman, admitting that he grabbed her neck during an argument on June 11, 2023. The death threats occurred between January 2020 and August 2023.
SooToday has chosen not to report on certain details of the case that could identify the victim.
The constable was handed a suspended sentence, which included 18 months of probation and an order to provide a DNA sample. A proposed three-year weapons prohibition was not imposed in the final sentencing.
Forsyth told Ontario Court Justice Andrew Buttazzoni during the sentencing hearing that the DNA order was the “biggest violation” and “absolutely ridiculous given the facts of the case.”
The Sault Police constable would eventually comply with the court order, as previously reported by SooToday.
Forsyth’s next appearance for his disciplinary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27.
- with files from Kenneth Armstrong and Linda Richardson