Cop previously charged with assault

Constable will be paid while suspended from duty

Niagara Regional Police Const. Matthew Belzil is suspended with pay after being arrested Friday on eight counts of assault-related charges.

The Police Services Act, which sets out the rules for policing in Ontario, mandates the NRP continue paying Belzil.

Belzil, 37, was arrested Friday at 4:45 p.m. He is charged with three counts of assault, two counts of uttering threats, two counts of mischief and one count of sexual assault. The alleged crimes occurred while he was off-duty.

None of the charges against Belzil have been proven in court.

There is no provision in the Police Services Act — legislation that sets out rules for policing in Ontario — to suspend Belzil’s pay.

By the time the current collective bargaining agreement wraps up, a first-class NRP constable, the highest rank of constable in the service, will earn $100,311 annually.

Friday’s arrest was the second time in the past four years that Belzil, an 11-year veteran, has been arrested for an assault that occurred when he was off-duty.

In 2013, Belzil was charged with two counts of assault and one count of uttering threats.

He was acquitted of those charges almost three years after he was arrested.

But the judge in 2015, Justice Robert Gee, didn’t want Belzil to feel vindicated by his verdict.

“Your acquittal was not brought about in any way by how you acted at the time, or the manner in which you conducted your defence at trial; your acquittal came about in spite of those factors,” Gee said.

“Agree or disagree, love it or hate it, therein lies the beauty of the criminal justice system in this country. Before we are willing to bring the authority of the state in the form of criminal sanctions to bear upon someone, we must be satisfied their guilt is beyond a reasonable doubt, which is an exacting standard.

“It is such that a person, who has behaved and acted as you have, and who is most likely guilty, is nonetheless entitled to the benefit of any doubt. The charge is hereby dismissed.”

Gee also commented on the length of the trial, which took almost 10 months, placing the blame squarely on Belzil and his lawyers.

The judge said the allegations were not overly complicated and there were no complicated charter applications.

“Much of the time this trial took was a result of an all-out, multi-pronged personal attack by the defence on the complainant, couched in terms of an attack on her credibility,” Gee said.

Gee said Belzil’s lawyers made requests for records before the incident of officers not involved in the investigation and appeared to have “negligible relevance.”

“As well, considerable time was spent by the defence arguing about their right to call, question and have access to the notes of another officer of the Niagara Regional Police Service, again one not involved in the investigation, to prove he and the complainant were involved in an intimate relationship at the time.”

Insp. Mike Woods of the NRP’s professional standard’s unit said he is prevented from commenting specifically on Belzil’s status and work history by employee confidentiality and privacy legislation.

He did, however, explain the process when an officer is charged with a criminal offence.

The chief of police initially decides if the professional standards unit should investigate further.

“Upon completion, a determination is made on whether the officer will remain out of the workplace on suspension, or return on modified duties — which may include limited contact with members of the public — or return to regular duties,” Woods said.

If there is a guilty verdict in a criminal court, the professional standards unit then determines if additional internal discipline is necessary. That punishment can include loss of rank, loss of pay and, in some cases, dismissal from the service.

Cliff Priest, president of Niagara Region Police Association, the union that represents Niagara’s frontline officers, said he had no comment Monday.

“The charges are in regard to off-duty conduct, and, as such, the association is not involved,” he said.

Ontario’s police chiefs have called for revisions to the Police Services Act so they can suspend the pay of officers facing serious criminal charges. It is a tool available to chiefs everywhere in Canada except Ontario.

Joe Couto, director of communications for Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, said the government is revamping legislation for the first time in about 25 years.

“My understanding is the government is fairly close to introducing legislation that will have some provisions for suspension without pay,” said Couto.

“They are still fine-tuning it, but we are cautiously confident they are going to introduce something soon. The trick will be can they pass it before they head off to their election campaigns next fall.” bsawchuk@postmedia.com twitter.com/Bill_Standard