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Sault Police officer fails to show up for disciplinary hearing

Const. Jarrott Forsyth — sentenced last year for assaulting and threatening to kill a woman — faces three allegations of discreditable misconduct under the Police Services Act
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File photo. James Hopkin/SooToday

The prosecutor for a disciplinary hearing involving a Sault Ste. Marie Police Service officer is looking for additional information from a forensic psychologist as part of the proceedings. 

Const. Jarrott Forsyth is facing three allegations of discreditable misconduct under the Police Services Act. The officer no-showed for a scheduled appearance held via teleconference Thursday, despite being required to attend. 

Joel Dubois — a lawyer for the police service who was designated by Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Chief Hugh Stevenson to prosecute the matter — told adjudicator and retired police superintendent Robert Gould that he was not “entirely satisfied” with medical information provided by a forensic psychologist and a registered social worker in a pair of recent letters submitted to the tribunal.

The prosecutor noted that details on Forsyth contained in the letters are of a “sensitive nature.” 

Dubois said the tribunal needs to hear from the forensic psychologist, who has been asked to provide additional medical records for the ongoing disciplinary proceedings, and that he might want to cross-examine both the forensic psychologist and the social worker at some point. 

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 probation and an order to provide a DNA sample. A proposed three-year weapons prohibition was not imposed in the final sentencing. 

As previously reported by SooToday, 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.” 

Forsyth would eventually comply with the court order.   

The veteran officer made headlines in 2018, when he received a conditional discharge after being convicted of assaulting a colleague’s girlfriend. The assault occurred two years earlier during an off-duty confrontation. 

The disciplinary hearing involving Forsyth continues Feb. 27. It's anticipated that details on the officer's health information and potential cross-examination of health-care professionals will be disclosed in-camera during the hearing.     

Court documents obtained by SooToday, meanwhile, have revealed that an application for a weapons prohibition was brought against Forsyth in July of last year. The next court date for that matter is scheduled for March 3. 

- with files from Linda Richardson and Kenneth Armstrong



James Hopkin

About the Author: James Hopkin

James Hopkin is a reporter for SooToday in Sault Ste. Marie
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