North Bay Police officer Barry MacIntosh has been found guilty of one of the two assault charges he was facing after an appeal of the March 2014 trial which saw MacIntosh cleared of all charges.
On the second charge, however, MacIntosh has been acquitted.
Thursday afternoon, it was decided that MacIntosh would receive a probationary period of 21 months with the following conditions: to keep the peace, maintain good behavior, have no communication with the victim, complete the partner assault response (PAR) program, as well as provide his DNA sample.
However, despite the Crown’s urging that he receive a weapon prohibition order, it was decided that such a sentence would prohibit his ability to continue his career, as well as support his household—including his sons.
Justice John Kukurin, who passed the sentence, said MacIntosh had no reason to be with the victim while he was on duty, but despite having his firearm on his person during the assault, it was not used, nor were threats made to use it and therefore he believed it did not provide reason to have him prohibited to one.
Toronto defense attorney David Humphrey told media, afterward, MacIntosh was disappointed with the findings but was relieved the criminal proceedings were now completely at an end and that MacIntosh was hopeful to return to active police duty.
“His Honour’s sentence is a reasonable one and [MacIntosh] accepts it,” he said. “He’s been advised there are likely to be Police Service Act proceedings and because of that the matter is ongoing so it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment any further.”
During the trial; however, Sudbury Crown attorney Elise Quinn noted that the assault did happen while MacIntosh was on duty—a fact that Brenda Quenneville, executive director Amelia Rising, Sexual Assault Centre of Nipissing, believes is enough to warrant the decision to not allow MacIntosh to resume his duties.
Quinn said that without his firearm, MacIntosh still had the ability to occupy other positions within the police services that did not require him to have one on his person. However, Kukurin said MacIntosh was an individual with no prior record of violence and that the assault was on the lower level of scale, as well as noting MacIntosh’s compliance during the period following his arrest in 2012.
Despite this, Quenneville was pleased that MacIntosh was found guilty of at least one of the two appealed assaults, but had issues with the sentencing.
“What was surprising to me, though, was MacIntosh’s defense lawyer, [who] during the sentencing, commented that MacIntosh has every hope and goal of returning to policing and I’m expressing my concern for that,” Quenneville said. “There is no way that the violence against women sector could have confidence with his ability to police so we will be actively advocating with the police board to have his dismissal.”
These two counts of assault were appealed by the Crown attorney's office after the acquittal of MacIntosh's four counts of assault, two counts of assault causing bodily harm and two counts of criminal harassment in the 2014 trial.
MacIntosh remains suspended with pay from the North Bay Police Service. A year ago then-Police Chief Paul Cook said MacIntosh was paid $312,000 while suspended since 2012. That figure would be much higher today. That figure also does not include overtime costs related to being short an officer, said Cook.
Cook was an advocate of changing the Police Services Act to allow police chiefs to suspend officers without pay under certain circumstances.
MacIntosh now faces a disciplinary hearing under the Police Services Act.
