2 censured in cop probe of ghost warnings

A police officer who faked two traffic warnings and was suspended for 15 months by the Ottawa Police Service was demoted for five months Monday, at the culmination of his police disciplinary hearing.

Const. Peter Dawson pleaded guilty on May 2 to discreditable conduct and insubordination under the Police Services Act for falsifying two traffic warnings or “ghost warnings,” and failing to take proper notes for 176 traffic warnings he issued.

Dawson was one of two officers initially suspended in the probe, which has now seen 12 officers charged across the force.

Const. Edward Ellis, the officer who prompted the probe and the first to be suspended, admitted to faking the warnings to save face in the stats-driven culture of the traffic escort and enforcement unit. Dawson submitted to his hearing that he was never under any pressure to boost his stats, but did not present any evidence to explain why the fake warnings were issued.

Dawson also submitted that his duty notebook was rarely checked by a supervisor and that only two of the 822 warnings he issued resulted in charges.

Hearing officer Supt. Chris Perkins of the Halton Regional Police Service said a casual observer might be persuaded by that submission, but that they were indeed “flagrant breaches of policy.” Notes play a foundational role in policing and records-keeping and without them, he said, records were created without evidence.

Perkins said it was “abundantly clear” that both Dawson and his family had been impacted by the disciplinary process and that there was no reason to believe he would reoffend.

Perkins also accepted that public attention brought to the charges by “sensationalized reporting” affected Dawson’s reputation, health and well-being. Dawson alleged he was referred to as a “corrupt cop” in “news articles and social media.” The Citizen has never referred to Dawson in such terms.

Dawson also contended that his suspension was handed down in haste and that other officers charged in the same probe weren’t treated as harshly. Perkins said a suspension is an operational matter that falls to the discretion of the chief of police — an issue that continues to be scrutinized within the police force — and has no bearing at a disciplinary hearing, nor can it be considered at one.

Dawson’s wife was seen crying throughout much of the hearing officer’s decision. When Dawson was asked to stand to be sentenced, his wife pointed at the investigating professional standards officers and said, “You did this!” When she was quietly addressed by the staff sergeant of the unit, she said, “Maybe you should f—k off.”

Dawson submitted that the suspension caused him to suffer from severe depression, nightmares, anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks. His 16-year-old daughter stopped speaking to him. He had to explain to his nine-year-old daughter why his badge was taken from him. Dawson is now on longterm disability and his wife is also now on disability stress leave.

Perkins noted that while the suspension has had effects on Dawson and his family, this occurred postmisconduct and cannot be seen as mitigating the offences to which he pleaded guilty.

The demotion carries with it a loss of $7,500 in salary.

Const. Frederick Thornborrow also pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of discreditable conduct and insubordination in the probe for failing to serve to drivers 17 warnings issued in the police system, faking two warnings and issuing six warnings without any notes. In exchange for the plea, a count of deceit was withdrawn.

In one case, a driver was charged by another officer three weeks after being stopped by Thornborrow because the police database falsely suggested that the driver had already been warned by Thornborrow for the infraction.