Officer faces criminal charges
Threat made in attempt to settle dispute with one of his children, they say
An Ottawa police officer accused of threatening a teen with a knife defended himself against criminal allegations after being released from custody Wednesday.
Const. Marcel Allen was arrested Tuesday by east patrol officers. Police allege Allen entered a teen’s home with a knife looking to settle a dispute between the teen and one of his own children, the Citizen has learned. Police also allege that Allen flashed his badge during the altercation.
He has now been charged with uttering threats, possessing a weapon and unlawful entry.
Allen appeared in court Wednesday afternoon by video from the courthouse cells. He was eventually released from custody but was visibly uncomfortable while on video, grunting in pain. He was on the floor when the video feed began and had to be helped up by special constables and police. Allen then leaned on a ledge for support.
Allen has epilepsy, a condition — characterized by chronic seizures — that he has been vocal about. After his arrest Tuesday, Allen had what is believed to have been a seizure and was taken to hospital from the cellblock, the Citizen has also learned.
On Wednesday, he told the judge: “I can’t stay in the cell anymore, sir.”
As conditions of his release, Allen was ordered to reside with his surety, to make appointments with his medical specialist and a counsellor in the coming days, and to not communicate with a list of witnesses in the case against him.
Allen told the Citizen outside of the courtroom that he couldn’t speak to the charges against him but said the entire incident occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday after another incident at Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School.
“These events are of incredibly serious implications,” he said, while sitting on steps in the courthouse.
He said he’s been in jail for the last 24 hours as a result of just one family’s account.
“This is the way they thought they should treat one of their own officers?” he said.
Allen also railed against Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau. He said his concern isn’t about the actions of his “brothers and sisters in blue” but the actions of their leader.
He then left the courthouse and threatened a photographer trying to take his picture. He swatted repeatedly at her camera, saying he would “knock it out” of her hands.
Allen has not been on active duty for some time, but the police service confirmed Wednesday that he has now been officially suspended from his job. That suspension is with pay, in accordance with the Police Services Act. The Ottawa Police Service did not comment further.
Allen has been an officer since 1995. He told this newspaper that he has had epilepsy for 10 years and has had no history of being a danger to anyone during his seizures or in the time immediately following the episodes.
Allen has also been an advocate for developing a training program for police to recognize and respond to people having seizures. He has advocated for people to disclose their epilepsy to employers and colleagues.
Allen said he has woken up in handcuffs in hospital three times after having seizures while on the job. He told CBC Edmonton in 2014 that he was also Tasered in front of his children on Parliament Hill in 2008 following a seizure while he was off duty. A blog post on Epilepsy Ontario, a charity and awareness organization in which Allen has frequently appeared, attributes the same event to 2010.
As an officer with an unpredictable and chronic neurological condition, Allen was not permitted, when on active duty, to drive a cruiser or carry a gun.
While these are the first criminal charges against him, Allen also has a lengthy history of internal discipline.
In 2013, he was docked 24 hours’
This is the way they thought they should treat one of their own officers?
pay and was told to attend mandatory training after a 2012 incident where he approached a civilian employee and “put his arm around her neck.” The actions were not welcomed by the woman and a disciplinary hearing found they were “clearly inappropriate” and an “embarrassment” to the police force.
In 2006, Allen was demoted for six months after he crashed his personal vehicle into a construction fence on Metcalfe Street, while driving without insurance in 2005. He fled the scene without reporting the collision. That collision occurred after Allen worked as part of a police security detail while former U.S. president George Bush was in Ottawa.
Police were able to track their fellow officer when a construction worker at the collision found Allen’s licence plate, which had fallen off his vehicle. His vehicle hadn’t been insured for nearly 16 months and also had an expired registration.
Ontario drivers with epilepsy may be permitted to drive if they satisfy a series of conditions, including being seizure-free for at least six months. Allen was also fined $2,500 under the Highway Traffic Act for the infraction.
In 2004, Allen accidentally fired a bullet in the men’s police locker-room when he ejected a round from his police gun but didn’t remove the magazine. He was docked a day’s pay for that.
Allen has also been informally disciplined by the force. In 2003, he missed three paid-duty assignments.
Allen is not the only member of his family with ties to Ottawa policing. His mother, Miriam Allen, is a former member of the Gloucester police board, one of the forces that amalgamated to form the OPS.
Allen is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 5.