Sexual and domestic violence overrepresented among police officers

An investigation by Duty shows that one in two police officers charged with a crime in the last five years were charged with crimes related to domestic or sexual violence, twice the proportion of the general population. Despite the fact that they embody the protection of the public, according to our analysis, a minority of them have been dismissed, all in total ignorance of the government and the authorities concerned, who keep no records of the matter.

From January 2018 to December 2023, 118 police officers were brought to court on criminal charges, according to our analysis based on an unprecedented manual compilation of files from the Director of Criminal and Prosecution Services (DPCP) and a review of publicly known cases. And almost 50% of the cases involved police officers who either sexually assaulted or were violent or harassing towards their spouse, ex-spouse, colleague or partner. A statistic much higher than that of the general population, where cases of sexual and domestic violence represent an average of 23% of all criminal proceedings authorized from 2018 to 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Justice.

Sexual coercion, sexual harassment, harassing communication, voyeurism: a total of 54 cases have brought police officers to trial in Quebec over the past five years.

Despite this worrying statistic, neither the Ministry of Public Safety nor the police force counts the number of police officers accused of domestic or sexual violence. There are no records of police officers with criminal records or who have been fired. “The Ministry of Public Safety is not an employer of police officers. The municipal police forces and the Sûreté du Québec are autonomous in the management of their human resources,” the ministry explains 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, in 2018, she asked former Quebec Police (SPVQ) officer Maxime Lehoux to walk her home after a night out. After being sexually harassed by him, she initially decided not to file a complaint for fear of reprisals.

“I’m surprised he did that because when you’re with a police officer, you think he’s going to follow the rules, he’s fair and you can trust him. 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 drive drunk and I’d be fine. He’s a police officer! But that trust was destroyed in the end,” says Eve.

Former prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney Charles Levasseur counts many police officers among his clients. In his opinion, a peace officer must honor his uniform, even when he is not on duty.

“From a criminal and legal perspective, the police are a 24/7 police force, 365 days a year (…) You should set a good example. But you have to admit it: you have a gun on the hip. So we hope that you definitely have a little bit of judgment,” says M.^t Levasseur.

Bring the uniform home

Trois-Rivières police officer David Ross pleaded guilty in July 2021 to harassing two former spouses and illegally consulting the Quebec Police Intelligence Centre (CRPQ) approximately twenty times to verify the “suicidal history” of a re-dating spouse at the beginning of a relationship.

The Police Act provides for the dismissal of a police officer with a criminal record. Officer Ross attempted to obtain a permanent dismissal, which would have spared him a criminal record, but was denied. However, he was able to benefit from a “suspended sentence”, that is, three years’ probation with a number of conditions. He also admitted to having taken advantage of his status as a police officer on several occasions to monitor or obtain information about certain of his spouses or ex-spouses.

“Jealous,” “possessive,” and “manipulative”: David Ross admits before the Ethics Committee that he quickly exercised control over his ex-spouses.

“I brought the police shirt home. I asked questions: ‘Where were you? When? How? (…) I checked everyone who came and went,'” the former police officer said in court.

During the relationship from June 2016 to March 2017, David Ross monitored his partner’s clothing and her “male friendships” on Facebook. On a few occasions, he passed by her apartment while on duty and made his partner feel like she was being watched.

The woman ends the relationship after a violent outburst in which David Ross pushes her away, causing her to “fly” back to the couch. She plans her move in secret, fearing the officer’s reaction. However, David Ross was not the first incident of domestic violence. Ten years earlier, another woman was the victim of violent behavior by the officer. “Occasionally, (David Ross) punches walls, slams doors, hits hands, pulls his hair and squeezes his arm when he is unhappy,” according to the agreed statement of facts filed in court.

He admits to harassing her and leaving her several voice messages. He also drove past the house of his ex and her new partner several times in his patrol car.

Special circumstances, systemic problem

In the spring, David Ross petitioned the Administrative Tribunal of Police Ethics to retain his police title, seeking a sanction other than dismissal by arguing that we should distinguish between the man he was in his private life and the good cop he was in the field.

He claimed that his therapies with Trainer Life, his four-day retreat training in a monastery and yoga classes had helped him “to become a better person.” In criminal court, the man also said that he had gotten new tattoos to convince the judge of the validity of his actions. “I got a tattoo on my right arm.”Hakuna Matata“which means that there are no worries, that there is no problem. Despite all the adversities (…) we are not giving up,” he said during the verdict. The Ethics Tribunal will make its decision soon.

Under the Police Act, a police officer found guilty of a purely criminal act, such as sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, extortion or murder, is automatically dismissed and loses his or her status as a peace officer. For all other crimes, a police officer can invoke “special circumstances” that justify a sanction other than dismissal, such as suspension or reprimand. Having a “good record” and proving that the crime committed was “a temporary error” are some of the elements that police officers’ lawyers put forward to prove that they deserve a sanction other than removal from office.

Impeachment is the exception

The duty asked all police forces in Quebec how many officers were suspended or fired from 2018 to 2023. Two declined our request. In total, only 18 police officers were fired, which, according to our data, represents 15% of the criminal charges against police officers between 2018 and 2023. Suspension, with or without pay, remains the most common outcome; 234 officers have received this sanction.

Agent Ross’s case is not an isolated one. This year alone, at least three police officers appeared before their ethics tribunal to get their uniforms back despite the allegations and failures they were accused of, citing “special circumstances.”

RCMP Constable Frédéric Mongeau was questioned last April during a disciplinary hearing where he was accused, among other things, of “dishonourable conduct” against seven police chiefs.

On March 26, 2021, in the midst of a pandemic, while a curfew was in force, a distress call was made by a neighbour of the concerned gendarme’s ex-wife: a person dressed in black was on the property of the house, although it was already after 9 p.m. When they arrived at the scene, officers were confronted by a man in an RCMP uniform lying on the ground near the spa, a service weapon on his belt and a bag full of tools on his back. The latter immediately introduced himself to the RCMP as a police officer and confided that he wanted to dismantle his ex’s spa so that her new partner would not use it with her. Frédéric Mongeau is accused of threatening, carrying weapons for dangerous purposes, nighttime trespassing and unauthorized possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to this last offence, but all other charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Since then, he has been back together with his partner, who has decided to withdraw her complaint.

Constable Mongeau is also one of the police officers who received an unconditional discharge, which is considered the most lenient sentence in legal circles.

In court, he admitted that he was jealous. Both the hot tub and the garden furniture were the focus of the arguments between the two ex-spouses. He justified this by saying that he was on call that evening and was therefore wearing his service weapon and part of his uniform.

During his hearing on police ethics, former police officer Mongeau also argued that he was an asset to society. “I think I had an impeccable career until the events of March and I believe that my expertise (…) and my knowledge are always of use to the organization and its employees,” he argued before the Quebec Police Ethics Committee.

He reiterated that he takes full responsibility for the acts committed, which he himself described as “serious”. However, he hopes that this incident will not prove fatal to him and stressed that he immediately sought psychological help.

At the end of the hearings last May, the President of the Police Ethics Committee, M^t Lysane Cree asked the officer to resign within 14 days or face termination from the RCMP. “I believe that Officer Mongeau’s actions have the potential to damage the public’s confidence in his ability to perform his duties as a police officer and exercise good judgment,” she said.

With no criminal record and no dismissal, Constable Mongeau could thus seek to join a new police unit.

Agent Ross is still waiting for a decision. The third officer, Gregory Viel, was suspended for five days and received two reprimands. Can police officers with criminal records be rehired? “Yes, if I trust those I represent, except in cases of sexual assault,” says the criminal defense attorney ^Me Charles Levasseur.

Note that none of the police officers mentioned in this investigation have agreed to comment on their case.

* Fictitious names. The identity of the complainants is protected by court order.