An investigation of Duty reveals that one in two police officers accused of criminal offenses in the last five years have been accused of offenses committed in the context of domestic or sexual violence. A proportion twice as high as in the general population. Despite the fact that they embody the protection of the public, a minority of them were dismissed according to our analysis, all in the total ignorance of the government and the authorities concerned, who keep no records on the matter.
From January 2018 to December 2023, 118 police officers faced justice for criminal charges, according to our analysis based on an unprecedented manual compilation of files from the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) as well as a review of publicized cases. And nearly 50% of the cases concerned police officers who either sexually assaulted their spouse, ex-spouse, colleague or intimate partner, or were violent or harassing towards them. A statistic much higher than that of the general population, where sexual and domestic violence cases represent on average 23% of the total criminal cases authorized from 2018 to 2023, according to data obtained from the Ministry of Justice.
Sexual assault, sexual harassment, harassing communications, voyeurism: in total, 54 cases have placed police officers in the dock over the last five years in Quebec.
Despite this worrying statistic, neither the Ministry of Public Security nor the police forces count the number of police officers who have received accusations of domestic or sexual violence. There is no record of police officers with criminal records or who have been dismissed. “The Ministry of Public Safety is not an employer of police officers. Municipal police forces and the Sûreté du Québec are autonomous in the management of their human resources,” indicates the ministry by email.
Requested by The dutythe Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, declined our request for an interview so that he could comment on this investigation.
It was her status as a police officer that gave Ève* confidence when she asked former Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ) agent Maxime Lehoux to accompany her home in 2018, after a drunken evening. Sexually assaulted by the latter, she initially decided not to file a complaint for fear of reprisals.
“It surprises me that he did that because, when you are around a police officer, you think that he is someone who follows the rules, someone who is fair, someone you can trust. That’s why I agreed to let him take me home. I knew him, I knew he was a police officer so he wouldn’t drink and drive, and nothing would happen to me. He is a policeman ! But it was this trust that was broken in the end,” says Eve.
Former Crown prosecutor turned criminal lawyer Charles Levasseur counts many police officers among his clients. According to him, a peace officer must honor his uniform, even when he is not on duty.
“From a criminal and jurisprudential point of view, a police force is a 24/7 police force, 365 days a year […] You’re supposed to lead by example. You still have to admit it: you have a gun on the hip. So necessarily, we hope that you have a little judgement,” says M.e Levasseur.
Bring home the uniform
Trois-Rivières police officer David Ross pleaded guilty in July 2021 to having harassed two former spouses and to having illegally consulted the Quebec Police Intelligence Center (CRPQ) around twenty times to check “the suicidal history” of dating again at the start of a relationship.
The Police Act provides for the dismissal of a police officer with a criminal record. Officer Ross attempted to obtain an absolute discharge, which would have spared him a criminal record, but was denied. However, he was able to benefit from a “suspended sentence”, meaning three years’ probation with a series of conditions. He also admitted to having used his status as a police officer on several occasions to monitor certain of his spouses or ex-spouses or obtain information about them.
“Jealous”, “possessive” and “manipulative”: David Ross admits before the ethics committee to having quickly exercised his control over ex-spouses.
“I was bringing the police shirt home. I asked questions: “Where were you? When ? How ? […]“I was checking everyone coming and going,” the ex-police officer told the court.
During the relationship, from June 2016 to March 2017, David Ross controlled the clothes worn by his partner and controlled her “male friendships” on Facebook. On a few occasions, he passes their residence while he is on duty, making his partner feel like she is being watched.
The woman ends their relationship after an episode of violence where David Ross pushes her away, causing her to “fly” back onto the couch. She plans her move in secret, fearing the police officer’s reaction. David Ross, however, was not in his first episodes of domestic violence. Ten years earlier, another woman had suffered violent behavior from the police officer. “On occasion, [David Ross] punches walls, slams doors, slaps his hands, pulls his hair, and squeezes his arm when he is unhappy,” states the agreed statement of facts filed in court.
He admits to having harassed her and to having left her several voice messages in addition to having passed on numerous occasions in his patrol car in front of the home of his ex and her new partner.
Special circumstances, systemic problem
In the spring, David Ross applied to the Administrative Tribunal for Police Ethics to retain his police title. He tried to obtain a sanction other than dismissal by asking that we distinguish the man he was in his personal life from the good police officer he was on the ground.
He claimed that his therapies with coaches life, his four-day closed retreat in a monastery and yoga classes allowed him to “become a better person”. Before the criminal court, to convince the judge of the solidity of his approach, the man had also said that he had new tattoos made. “I got a tattoo on my right arm.”Hakuna matata”, which has a meaning that there is no worry, there is no problem. Despite all adversities […], we don’t give up,” he explained during the sentencing hearings. The Ethics Tribunal will soon make its decision.
According to the Police Act, a police officer found guilty of a pure criminal act, such as sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, extortion or murder, is automatically dismissed and thus loses his status as a peace officer. For all other offenses, a police officer can plead “special circumstances” that warrant a sanction other than dismissal, such as suspension or reprimand. Having “a good service record”, demonstrating that the offense committed was “a passing error” are some of the elements put forward by the police officers’ lawyers in order to demonstrate that they deserve a sanction other than the impeachment.
Impeachment is rather the exception
The duty asked all police forces in Quebec for the number of officers suspended or dismissed from 2018 to 2023. Two refused to grant our request. In total, only 18 police officers were dismissed, representing 15% of criminal indictments of police officers between 2018 and 2023, according to our data. Suspension, with or without pay, remains the most common outcome with 234 agents having received this sanction.
Agent Ross’s case is not isolated. This year alone, at least three police officers appeared before their ethics tribunal to try to regain their uniforms despite the accusations and failings with which they were accused, citing “special circumstances”.
RCMP Constable Frédéric Mongeau was heard last April during a disciplinary hearing where he notably faced seven chiefs for having demonstrated “dishonorable conduct”.
On March 26, 2021, in the midst of a pandemic, while a curfew was in effect, a 911 call was made by a neighbor of the worried gendarme’s ex-spouse: an individual dressed in black was on the grounds of the house, even though it was after 9 p.m. When they arrived on scene, the officers found themselves confronted with a man in an RCMP uniform, lying on the ground near the spa, service weapon on his belt and with a bag full of tools on his back. Immediately, the latter introduces himself as a police officer to the RCMP and confides to them that he wanted to break up his ex’s spa so that her new partner would not use it with her. Frédéric Mongeau is accused of threats, carrying weapons for dangerous purposes, trespassing at night and unauthorized possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to this last offense, but all other charges were dropped for lack of evidence. He has since been in a relationship again with his partner, who has decided to withdraw her complaint.
Constable Mongeau is also one of the police officers who obtained an unconditional discharge, considered in legal circles as the most lenient sentence.
In court, he admits to having been jealous. The spa as well as the patio furniture were at the heart of arguments between the two ex-spouses. He justified himself by saying that he was on call that evening and that he was therefore wearing his service weapon and part of his uniform.
During his police ethics hearing, ex-constable Mongeau also pleaded that he was an asset to society. “I think I had a flawless career up until the events of March and I believe my expertise […] and my knowledge is always useful to the organization and its employees,” he argued before the Quebec police ethics committee.
He affirmed that he took full responsibility for the actions committed, which he himself described as “serious”. However, he hopes not to be reduced to this event, highlighting the psychological help he quickly sought.
At the end of the hearings last May, the president of the police ethics committee Me Lysane Cree ordered the constable to resign within 14 days or he would be fired from the RCMP. “I believe that Constable Mongeau’s actions may harm public confidence in his ability to carry out his duties as a police officer and exercise good judgment,” she said.
Without a criminal record and without dismissal, Constable Mongeau could thus aspire to join a new police force.
Agent Ross is still awaiting a decision. As for the third police officer, Gregory Viel, he was suspended for five days and received two reprimands. Do police officers with criminal records succeed in being reinstated? “Yes, if I rely on those I represent, except in cases of sexual assault,” says the criminal lawyer Me Charles Levasseur.
Note that none of the police officers mentioned as part of this investigation agreed to make comments regarding their case.
* Fictitious names. The identity of the complainants is protected by court order.